Darby Township fire company is suspended over administrative concerns

A Delaware County volunteer fire company has been suspended after the township had concerns about how it was administered and whether it had sufficient funds to continue.

Fire Company No. 4 in Darby Township, at Hook and Green Hill Roads, was shuttered Sunday. Fire services will be covered by other volunteer companies in the area, township officials said. The township has three fire companies, including No. 4.

"We are trying to work with them," Township Solicitor Michael Pierce said. Concerns surfaced when township officials asked to see the company's financial records and officials did not cooperate. A number of warning letters were sent, he said.

The company lost its nonprofit status in 2011 after failing to file tax documents with the IRS for three years in a row, according to public records.

"They need to get their house in order before we are going to continue to provide funding," Pierce said.

Fire Chief Charles Wynn said he hoped to have the 86-year-old company back on line within weeks.

"All fire companies have financial difficulties," Wynn said. He said problems with a rogue member kept the warning letters from reaching the proper fire company officials. The township provides no money to the company, he said.

"If we all work as a collective, then everything would be a lot better," Wynn said. "One snafu has everyone choosing sides."

The township provides the fire apparatus, fuel, and insurance, and administers funds from the state's Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Association.

Company No. 4, historically African American, serves the southern end of the township. It has about 45 active firefighters and responds to 45 to 60 fire and ambulance calls a month.

According to public records, the social arm of the club has been cited by the Liquor Control Board 10 times and fined $3,300 since 1995 for violations including serving alcohol to nonmembers, failing to adhere to bylaws, improper record-keeping, and, in June, serving alcohol after hours.

Wynn said the company had made changes to address problems, including adding an age restriction, providing security at the door, and cutting hours.

The fire company's founders went door to door in 1926 collecting money to start it. Other companies in the area at that time refused to respond to fires in the predominantly black section of the township.

The company was denied entrance into the Delaware County Firemen's Association until 1966, when a policy prohibiting black members was overturned.