Every department here in Montgomery County uses volunteer firefighters to some extent,” said Todd Stieritz, public affairs coordinator for the county’s Department of Public Safety. “There are no fire departments in Montgomery County that are 100% career, such as what you would see in the city of Philadelphia, where there’s no volunteers whatsoever. The city has long since shifted entirely to a career force, but the vast majority of firefighters in Montgomery County are volunteers. In 1736, Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire Company, and Philadelphia became the birthplace of volunteer firefighting. In an open letter to residents of Cheltenham, township manager Robert Zienkowski said that the company was asked throughout 2020 to provide a plan to address the problems but never did. Gordon said it now has a force of 22 and a qualified chief, but the township hasn’t budged. Since December, the company’s firefighters have rallied to meet both requirements. Though the fire company can no longer respond to calls, the order to close won’t be official until March 17. It wasn’t anything we were expecting,” said Art Gordon, president of the Ogontz Fire Company. And we were unaware that it was even going to be up for discussion. Though the Ogontz Fire Company was aware of those issues and working to solve them, members were caught off guard by the closure decision. The township cited recent studies regarding its fire infrastructure and a recommendation from the fire marshal that said the company had failed to meet requirements for an active firefighting force of at least 20 members and a qualified chief. 16, the Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners voted to decertify the Ogontz Fire Company as one of the five volunteer squads serving the municipality, effective immediately - after 128 years of service. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor
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