By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Township officials plan to hand over copies of the proposed strategic plan for fire services to the members of the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville volunteer fire companies for their review this week.
The strategic plan is an effort to address the most immediate issues facing the fire companies, according to Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun. The plan is not a directive or a recommendation on how to deliver fire services, but rather provides a structure for a collaborative effort to move toward common operating goals, he said.
Mr. Krawczun said the plan — or a variation of it — would be implemented after it is reviewed and accepted by both Township Council and the three fire companies.
The seven-page report is divided into three sections, addressing manpower needs, fire department equipment and fire department facilities. Each section lists benchmarks, an action plan and a means of monitoring the success of the action plan.
The manpower section seeks to determine the number of active volunteers, the number of calls for service and the type of calls from 2003 to 2008 under the benchmark portion.
The action portion would initiate recruitment and retention programs. It also suggests finding a way to provide responses to various calls without overburdening the volunteers — including the possibility of overnight crews.
Success would be determined by the number of new and existing volunteers, and the increase in participation of active members from the date of the adoption of the strategic plan.
The equipment section addresses the need to determine which pieces of equipment are mandatory and which ones are not. Some pieces are mandatory, under the Public Employee Occupational Safety and Health Act and the National Fire Protection Association standards.
An inventory of equipment would be conducted at the three fire companies, under the benchmark portion. The action plan would create a list of mandatory equipment on each fire truck, and an effort would be made to identify duplicate equipment that could be eliminated. Equipment ranges from small hand tools to the fire engines themselves.
A subcommittee that examines technology changes would be created.
A plan would be devised for the acquisition of future fire trucks and equipment. A policy would be created that determines who purchases and maintains the equipment — the fire companies or the township. Alternative funding sources for equipment purchases could be explored.
Success would be determined by the completion of an inventory of equipment and the development of a five-year replacement plan for the equipment. The creation of a fire technology subcommittee would be completed.
The facilities section deals with the three firehouses, which were designed with volunteers in mind. The report points out that only one of the three firehouses could accommodate overnight staffing. The Lawrenceville Volunteer Fire Co. has a bunk room and shower facilities, but the Lawrence Road and Slackwood firehouses do not.
The benchmark calls for a physical inventory of all three firehouses, and also a review of the location of each firehouse. The cost of maintaining and operating each firehouse also would be determined.
Under the action plan, a needs assessment would be developed that addresses the accommodation of fire company operations that presently exist. The needs assessment also would address improvements to accommodate overnight crews or the expansion or transition to more career firefighters.
Success would be monitored by the completion of a needs assessment and a long-term facilities plan with consideration of changes in staffing. Short-term and long-term capital improvement plans would be devised.

