Citing missed calls, poor recruitment and an embezzlement scandal, the Bristol Township Council voted to remove the Newportville Fire Co. from its service district Thursday night.
The move, which was done through an ordinance to amend the Fire Code, removes the volunteer company from service in Bristol Township, effectively closing it after 99 years of service.
"This is the hardest vote I've ever had to make in my 16 years sitting up here," said Councilman Joe Glasson, who cast his vote in favor of abandoning Newportville. Glasson, a plumber by trade, is also volunteer firefighter with Levittown Fire Co. No. 2 for 48 years.
The vote was 5-2, with Glasson and council members Patrick Antonello, Marcia Dunlap, Cynthia Weaver and Maryann Wagner voting
to remove Newportville from its fire service district. Councilman Ray Blaylock and Council President Craig Bowen voted no.
"There's all the evidence, all the data," Bowen said after meeting, citing Newportiville's 64 missed and an ex-chief caught allegedly embezzling funds, "but I live there (in Newportville). Like a lot of these people here tonight, I have an emotional attachment to that place."
Blaylock declined to comment on his no vote.
The vote came after about two hours of stormy public comment. About 20 residents raked the council for targeting Newportville and potentially diminishing public fire safety.
IAntonello dismissed that.
"We will survive," he said. "The fearmongering that Newportville Fire Co. has engaged in will not come to fruition."
"And the taxpayers and the voters will suffer," a woman called out.
"I worry about about the taxpayers and their safety. I don't worry about the voters," Antonello shot back.
Newportville Fire Chief Ryan Cummings, during public comment, said he wanted the council to "prove" that Newportville must close, though he conceded there have been problems.
"Tonight, I'm not going to argue that Newportville is perfect," he said. "I'm not going to argue that the township's never had legitimate concerns."
He wanted proof.
But that had come earlier from township Manager Randee Mazur. At the start of the ordinance hearing, she laid out the township's case, showing a record of scratched calls or late arrivals on scene, and Newportville's apparent reluctance to merge with another township fire service.
"The question for council is not whether Newportville has a history of service. It does. The question is what fire service structure will provide the most reliable and and sustainable protection for the township," she said.
Between 2020 and 2022, the township tried to assist with a merger with Third District Fire Co. But Newportville's members voted 23-4 against. After that, the company's fire responses continued to raise alarms. In one case in September 2025, Newportville arrived late to a four-alarm fire at the Levittown Trace Apartments in which a resident had to leap from a second floor window to escape flames and smoke.
Another case was a building fire on Rittenhouse Circle in the Keystone Industrial Park in 2023. Though Newportville got the first call, it arrived 24 minutes later -- after seven other companies were on the scene. Property damage was estimated at $10 million.
The company missed 64 calls for service in 2025. And companies did not want to partner with Newportville. Instead, they created a new four-company service model, without Newportville.
Then in 2025, former chief Fred Black was arrested and charged with misappropriating $33,000 in funds.
"Residents have consistently asked one central question: Will someone come when I call?" the manager said.
Emotions ran high at the meeting. Police wanded each resident before they could enter the council meeting room.
Some said they had not heard about the issue, others claimed fire service will diminish as the township goes from five fire companies to four. But it was also revealed that only one of Newportville's two fire stations is staffed.
What happens to Newportville's equipment and two builidngs, its main station at 2425 New Falls Road, and a substation at 3025 Bath Road, both in the township, is unclear.
At a town hall-style meeting on Aug. 12, Chief Cummings said he was not sure, since the fire company and its 15 active members have never experienced a closure.
Closing volunteer fire companies has become more common in Pennsylvania in recent years, mostly due to dwindling volunteers.
In late 2025, the East Lansdowne Borough council voted to terminate its association with its 114-year-old volunteer fire company. Staffing shortages causing a failure to respond to emergency calls were cited.
Cheltenham Township decertified the Ogontz Volunteer Fire Company for inadequate manpower, leadership issues and not having a qualified fire chief.
Darby Township closed the Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company citing the company’s inability to field trained and certified operators to run trucks.
The move to close Newportville reduces the township's fire service from five companies to four. The council assured the public fire service is adequate for the township of 54,000 residents, among the biggest in Bucks County.
JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bristol Township votes to close Newportville Fire Co.
