Buena Community Rallies To Save Suspended Landisville Volunteer Fire Company From Permanent Shutdown
BUENA, N.J. (CBS) -- The suspended Landisville Volunteer Fire Company in South Jersey is now at risk of being permanently shut down. It's been a fixture in Buena Borough, Atlantic County for nearly a century.
Now, residents are rallying to prevent what they call a safety issue for their community.
"It's just totally wrong for the community. It will create an unsafe environment," Buena resident Robert Anderson said.
These shiny fire trucks are ready to go to answer calls for help. But for the last four months, they've been collecting dust after the Landisville Volunteer Fire Company was suspended for 90 days back in December.
"The bottom line is that the violations remain outstanding and uncorrected. And while some on the call believe the district will be dissolved at tonight's meeting, this is 100% not true," Mayor David Zappariello said.
According to the mayor, the fire company was facing 28 violations that caused its suspension in December, including respiration training and blood pathogen training.
A special meeting was held in March that extended that suspension an additional 90 days. Residents rallied outside of the municipal building Monday afternoon.
"They are very financially fit and there's no safety violations. Whatever was supposedly found is taken care of, so they can't pull this on us," Betty Tester said.
During a conference call Monday night, the mayor addressed some concerns surrounding the possibility of the fire company being dissolved.
"I, as well as council, want to schedule an in-person meeting to discuss the Pioche violations and other issues uncovered since July of 2020," Zappariello said.
The current fire chief says almost all of the violations have been addressed, like moving manuals from an office to a shelf in the garage.
"Landisville did have some paperwork problems from the previous administration. The new administration took care of all the problems," Chief Ken Barbagli said.
Residents and volunteer fire officials are hoping they don't shut this vital emergency service down permanently.
"This fire department is up and ready to run," Barbagli said.