Diner Blaze Reignites Debate over Closed PA Fire Company

Barry Lore, the chief of Plymouth Twp.’s Tilbury fire station, watched from the sidelines Monday night as firefighters from throughout the region battled a blaze at the Flamingo Diner on Route 11.

Crews from Nanticoke, Hanover Twp., Plymouth, and Edwardsville fought the blaze, while the Tilbury station’s apparatus sat idle in its station less than a half mile away.

The department has been out of commission since August when township supervisors voted to no longer use its services, citing the fire company’s large debt and lengthy response times. The township now is relying on neighboring towns for coverage.

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Members of the fire company say the diner fire is an example why a hometown fire department is needed.

“This is a reason why we shouldn’t be where we are at,” Lore said at the scene of the fire. “That fire company should still be here.”

At the scene, many of the firefighters came over to shake Lore’s hand and make small talk with him. Lore said the firefighters from surrounding towns were doing a great job and his comments only suggest he thinks his department needs to be returned to service.

The department wasted no time in posting frustrations of its members on social media.

“Following a shortsighted decision by the board of supervisors of Plymouth Township, (four) fire vehicles were forced to remain at the station and their firefighters made to stand idly by while a local diner burnt, local properties and residents put in danger, and nearby townships were forced to send their firefighters while leaving their townships dangerously exposed, to fight a fire on our doorstep,” the department posted.

Gale Conrad, a Plymouth Twp. supervisor, said the response to Monday’s fire was quicker than when the township used Tilbury. Nanticoke City was dispatched at 9:49 p.m., was out of the station by 9:50 p.m. and was on scene by 9:54 p.m., she said.

“They immediately had water running,” Conrad said.

Plymouth Borough fire crews arrived about a minute later, she said.

That’s a much different scenario than during a period last year when the township had three fires between May and July, she said.

During a fire on Wood Street, Tilbury was dispatched first, but crews from Hanover Twp. arrived first, followed by Plymouth Borough, she said.

When a fire broke out on East Popular Street — near the Tilbury station — Nanticoke City crews arrived 12 minutes before Tilbury crews, Conrad said.

At a fire on West Mountain Road, Plymouth and Larksville crews arrived before Plymouth Twp. firefighters, she said.

Conrad said she knows it’s difficult for volunteer departments to get manpower these days, but public safety has to come first. That’s why supervisors, in a 3-0 vote, felt compelled to decertify the department, she said.

Plymouth Twp. now uses Nanticoke, Plymouth Borough, Larksville and Lake Silkworth to respond to calls. Conrad said the township budgeted $30,000 for the year for their services.

“I have all the respect in the world to anyone who volunteers, but as time goes by there are less and less people who volunteer,” Conrad said.

Conrad said the supervisors are happy with the service they are getting from outside departments.

In November’s election, Lore and another firefighter tried to mount a write-in campaign against incumbent supervisor Jim Murphy and Joseph Yudichak. Murphy and Yudichak won.

Conrad said she’s heard about social media posts by township firefighters since the diner fire.

“It’s like trying to make the pot boil again,” Conrad said. “The board made its decision and the voters made their decision.”

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