After disruption in service, volunteer fire departments responding to calls in Plum
PLUM, Pa. (KDKA) — After a disruption in service, Plum residents have their four volunteer fire departments responding to calls again.
Once a month, Plum pays its workers' compensation insurance for its four fire departments. Borough manager Michael Thomas said the borough never paid the December invoice because he said they never got the bill.
"So we have a whole finance department and accounts, I'm not going to name any names. The buck stops with me," he said.
They started moving from the old borough building on New Texas Road to the new building on Old Mine Road in November, and Thomas said the borough did not receive the bill at either location.
On Jan. 4, the borough received an email from the insurance broker saying the invoice was outstanding. On Monday night, the borough overnighted a check to pay the premium.
Sources said that Plum's fire chiefs notified Allegheny County 911 around 2 p.m. that they were out of service until Wednesday because of a lapse in coverage.
Renton Fire Chief Carey Cole defended the decision to put a pause on fire service.
"It was basically a decision to protect our volunteers, it wasn't anything against the Borough or anybody else. It was out of precaution for us," Chief Cole said.
Around 7 p.m., the borough got additional workers' comp coverage from its insurance carrier.
"I am the borough manager, I am responsible here," Thomas said. "But the bill, we pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of insurance bills every year. The borough did not receive this bill, and I can't claim the accounts payable department for not keeping track of every single invoice."