W. Manchester Twp. to hire paid firefighters for first time

Since 1923, the West Manchester Township Fire Department has relied upon volunteers to fight fires and respond to emergencies.

A lot has changed in the township over the past century. It evolved from a largely agrarian area into a suburb with sprawling housing developments, large industrial facilities and bustling commercial spaces.

But until this year, the department still had only one paid employee, the fire chief, the position established in 1988.

That’s about to change, too. In December, the township approved hiring 15 part-time firefighters to augment its volunteer force.

Fire Chief Clifton Laughman – who has headed the department since 2016 – said the change was necessary for a couple of reasons. The growth in the township has been reflected in the number of calls it is dispatched to, a 78 percent increase in the past decade, from 718 in 2016 to nearly 1,300 last year. As the township continues to grow, the chief said he suspects those numbers will also grow.

Although the department has a robust base of volunteers, the chief said, many of them work during the day and are unavailable to respond to weekday calls. Some days, the chief said, just four or five volunteers will be available to respond to calls. Sometimes, he said, that number dwindles to one. “I can’t get a truck out the door with just one firefighter,” Laughman said.

It’s not for a lack of volunteers, he said. The department has 70 volunteers. “I have been blessed to have as many as I have,” the chief said. Last year, he said, the department experienced “a net gain,” adding 15 volunteers while losing 10 or 11 to attrition.

“This is something we needed to do to continue serving the township’s residents,” Laughman said.

The township was able to add the positions – four firefighters being added initially this spring – without raising taxes, the chief said. “That was a key thing right now, being able to do this without raising taxes,” he said.