Borough fire chief updates box alarms, plans SOP rewrite; council approves mutual-aid designations

The borough fire chief told the Mifflin County Borough Council on an early-February agenda that station box alarm assignments have been updated and that the department will revise borough standard operating procedures for fire response.

The update was presented during the council’s chief report. “We got that taken care of yesterday. Kevin Bartlett typed them all up, presented them to 9 1 1 center, and then I got copies of them also,” the chief said. He said the changes were requested by the county to prepare for a new CAD system and that the department will move next to updating borough SOPs, which “haven’t been updated for years.”

Why it matters: box alarm assignments determine which apparatus and stations respond to structure fires and other incidents. The chief said the changes aim to reduce unnecessary apparatus on borough streets while keeping adequate response coverage.

The chief described specific reassignments adopted in the update: the West End box formerly numbered 11 was renamed to a combined 1432 designation; the previous 13 box was changed to 32; 14’s assignments remain the same. He said the change will result in running a single apparatus for some 14- and 32-box call types to reduce multiple units responding for lower-priority incidents.

“We renamed the 11 box on the West end of town to a 1432 box. That will bring 1 piece of apparatus from each to going that way,” the chief said. He added the change is intended to “keep some of the mileage” down and reduce multiple apparatus on the street while units can still call for additional help when needed.

Council members asked whether any formal approval or filing was needed for the updated box assignments. The chief said the department had not made large changes beyond renumbering and reassigning mutual-aid responses, and another speaker indicated council approval and minutes documenting mutual-aid assignments would be appropriate. Council then moved to accept the chiefs’ mutual-aid/box-alarm recommendations and to record them in the minutes; the motion passed on a voice vote.

The chief also announced a February 19 training at Station 32 with UGI about gas-odor responses, citing a year-long rise in odor reports across the borough. He commended mutual aid partners and borough crews for their response to a recent terrace fire, saying responders set up tanker fills when hydrant flow was insufficient and that coordination “went a lot better this time.”

The chief said the department will next work on updated borough SOPs and adjust battalion-chief designations to use a 46-series identifier for consolidated command (46 representing the combined 32 and 14 areas). He asked council for support for documenting those mutual-aid and dispatch-designation recommendations; council voted to record and accept the recommendations.

What remains next: the chief said SOP drafting and the dispatch designation work will continue with the borough and the county dispatch center, and that council will be asked to confirm any items that require formal action once drafts are ready.