​Bucks County Establishes Fire Service Advisory Board

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Bucks County Commissioners on Dec. 16 voted to establish the Bucks
County Fire Service Advisory Board (FSAB), creating a board of career and volunteer fire chiefs to provide feedback to the commissioners on the most pressing issues facing the county’s fire service.

The new advisory board is made up of seven voting members – four volunteer fire chiefs and three career fire chiefs. Board members were chosen by their peers to represent distinct districts and aspects of the county’s fire community.

“We’re proud to represent the entire fire service of Bucks County,” said Adam Selisker, FSAB chair and chief of the Northampton Township Fire Department. “This is the first time in my 44 years involved in the fire service that we have one single board that brings all the fire departments together to give direct feedback to the commissioners. We believe that it’s critical to the ongoing success of the fire service in Bucks County to have a unified voice.”

Selisker added that in forming the new advisory board, they met with just about all the fire chiefs and fire departments of Bucks County and "wholeheartedly everyone was on board."

The board’s creation comes at a time of significant change for Bucks County’s fire service and at the urging of local fire officials.

“With the changing landscape of the fire service across Bucks County, we have seen a decline in the volunteer service and an increase in some career staffing throughout the county,” said George Wilson, Bucks County’s interim Director of Emergency Management. "With that happening throughout the county, the volunteers and the career staff decided that they should get together and have one unified voice and start tackling some of the key issues that are facing the fire service."

Wilson said the FSAB will address a wide range of issues including strategic planning, firefighter training, operational issues and improving coordination with county resources to better support fire companies.

The commissioners voted unanimously during their public meeting to establish the FSAB as an official county advisory board.

“For all the board members who are putting in extra time now on top of everything else that you already do, it means a lot,” said Commissioner Vice Chair Bob Harvie, “and we are looking forward to working with you to make sure we can do everything that we need to do to support the fire service throughout this county.”

The FSAB’s seven voting members are:

• Adam Selisker, Chair; Chief, Northampton Township Fire Department
• Gary Laird, Co-Chair; Chief, Penndel Fire Company
• Scott Fleischer; Chief, Point Pleasant Fire Company
• Glenn Forsyth; Chief, Newtown Fire-Rescue
• Robert Sponheimer; Battalion Chief, Bensalem Fire Rescue
• Keith Butler; Chief, Milford Township Volunteer Fire Company
• Tim Brewer; Chief, Upper Makefield Fire Company