Ross fire departments in ‘crisis,’ seeking solutions

A public meeting was held Tuesday by Ross commissioners to discuss the future of fire departments that service McKnight Road, Ross Park Mall and the Parkway North.

“We’re in crisis mode right now,” said Daniel DeMarco, president of the board of commissioners. “We’re all volunteer (fire departments). We need to address this and we need to figure out the best path forward.”

In 2022, Ross and its eight volunteer fire companies agreed to take part in a comprehensive study led by Rob Brady, owner of Robb Consulting LLC, to address fire service.

DeMarco said that the study was supposed to begin in 2020, but it was interrupted by the pandemic. He said that Brady’s consulting company is almost exclusively geared toward assessing fire companies and making suggestions on how to improve.

“We’ve asked him to come and assess our fire departments, and he’s going to give us a report on what he’s found about the state of our services,” DeMarco said. “He’s also going to give us recommendations about what paths we might consider taking to address the shortage in regards to the fire service.”

The departments said low staffing and struggles with funding are making it more difficult for them to operate.

“We don’t have the volunteers,” DeMarco said. “We need more. Recruitment is difficult. They can’t get new people to join.”

DeMarco said that Brady would have a draft of study results and possible solutions ready for commissioners and the fire departments by the end of March. In the meantime, the consulting company will conduct interviews and collect data.