Excerpt from:

UPPER SAUCON TOWNSHIP Newsletter Fall 2009

You Can Make A Difference

(USVFD) is made up of all volunteers? Except for Fire

Chief Chuck Castetter, that is. Everyone else – from the

firefighters, to the folks who control traffic, to the support

staff – is a volunteer. These volunteers answer an average

of 430 calls per year! They may be your next-door neighbor,

the teenager who lives just down the road or the retired

person at the market, but they all have one thing in

common – they are the ones our Township turns to

whenever there is a need to rescue people, save a burning

building, assist in storms or help control crowds and

traffic.

Giving Back to the Community

Chief Castetter wants you to know that the Upper Saucon

Fire Department is in need of volunteers. If you’re looking

for a way to give back to your community but aren’t sure

how you can help – give Chuck a call. "You'd be surprised

at the talents the Fire Department needs. You don’t need to

be an active firefighter, although we always need more.

We’d be thrilled to have people who can help us write

grants, teach fire prevention in schools, or provide legal

and financial advice. We need experts in all fields and at all

times of the day!"

In addition, if your teenager has an interest in firefighting

or rescue services, the Fire Department also needs support

volunteers who can help with equipment and firehouse

chores. Your son or daughter can start out at age 14 as an

Associate volunteer to explore their interest and help out

our Active volunteers.

Department Challenges

Chief Castetter acknowledges that "life is busy, and that

hurts the Department because people don’t have as much

time to volunteer as they used to." The Department

currently faces a number of challenges that directly impact

all of us in the community.

for safety reasons a fire call can’t be answered with less

than four volunteers.

their taxes pay for the Department, but it is staffed entirely

with volunteers and funded by donations.

volunteers were available for calls – reducing the

Department’s need to rely on outside agencies for

assistance.

In fact, the Fire Chief stated that if the number of

volunteers able to respond to calls didn’t increase, the

Township may need to hire full-time, paid firefighters.

What Full-Time, Paid Firefighters Mean

One word – Cost.

Currently the only paid employee of the USVFD is Fire

Chief Chuck Castetter. He is a full-time Township

employee tasked with building, maintaining and training

the Fire Department’s volunteers. If the number of

volunteers continues to decline, the Township will need to

hire full-time firefighters to ensure the safety of our

residents. The result would be a great expense to the

community’s residents – something no one wants to

experience.

Learn More On Mondays

Stop by the Fire Department at 4445 West Hopewell Road

in Center Valley any Monday night (except holidays) at

7:00 p.m. or visit the Department’s website at