Portion of tax hike in Rochester will go toward helping fire department

ROCHESTER, Pa. — Inside the Rochester Fire Department, the gear hangs ready for action. But on a normal Thursday afternoon, who’s answering that fire call?

“Today it could be me, it could be a road crew foreman, it could be a retiree — things could line up and we could have eight members here at the roll a dice,” said Fire Chief Mike Mamone III.

Mamone said that’s what it is, rolling a dice and what if no one shows up when you are running 350 fire calls a year?

“What if you are having a heart attack? What if you are having a fire? What if you get in a crash? You want someone there at a moment’s notice,” Mamone said.

Mamone told Channel 11 this all-volunteer department has only about 17 members who aren’t always available or in town.

He’s been asking council for years to come up with a solution to staff the department for the community’s safety.

“Now we are in the eleventh hour because it hasn’t been dealt with in the past five years and it’s grown to where we need to do something, and we need to do something right now,” said Sam Piccinini, a Rochester councilman.

That answer comes in the form of a $2 million tax increase for Rochester Borough residents.

“I’m not going to be the guy that sits on the side and tells a family, ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t save your child or loved one because we had inadequate staffing or equipment capable of getting to your house or emergency,’” Piccinini said.

The issue is that the increase will only bring in about $56,000, which isn’t enough to hire a full-time firefighter. Mamone said even one isn’t enough.

“One person showing up in a fire truck is one person showing up in a fire truck,” Mamone said.

The goal is to work with neighboring communities and apply for grant funding to get a full crew paid, to work alongside the volunteers.

“Together and sit down with both municipalities to see how we can offer the best service to the community,” Mamone said.

The fire department and Rochester Borough plan to hold a meeting in the new year to answer any questions from the residents. We will let you know as soon as the details are finalized.

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