HELLERTOWN, Pa. — The volunteer-run Dewey Fire Company now is set to have a rotating crew of three or four personnel at its Durham Street station from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each weekday in 2026.
That’s following Hellertown Borough Council’s vote Dec. 1 to approve a new incentive program for the fire company that would pay personnel $100 per 12 hours on duty and $12 for each incident response.
The maximum each firefighter can be paid is $11,000.
The program budget is estimated to cost $78,000, according to Nov. 17 meeting minutes.
Officials have said the move will help the fire company achieve a daytime response time of 60 seconds and bolster staffing as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.
Hellertown Borough Council proposes a 1.5-mill hike in its property-tax rate for 2026. Officials will take a final vote on the spending plan at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15.
The rotating unit will provide “immediate response to all emergencies within Hellertown Borough and [will be] our primary response unit for our mutual aid partners,” borough documents read.
Hellertown also has proposed a 1.5-mill tax hike as part of its unofficial 2026 budget.
Compared to 2025, that’s a half-mill added to the general-purpose rate, and 1 mill more for the fire-tax rate to help cover the new stipend program.
Borough Council will take a final vote on the budget and proposed millage rate — 20.5 general-purpose mills and 2.5 mills for fire equipment and fire houses, totaling 23 mills — at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15.
A mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That means the owner of a home with a tax evaluation of $100,000 would pay $2,300 in property tax in 2026.
Scratch rate up
The fire department’s scratch rate, which accounts for instances of Dewey Fire Company personnel not being able to respond to a call for whatever reason, was 3% in 2021.
It went up to 12% in 2024 as call volume also rose for the department, especially during normal daytime business hours, according to Councilman Andrew Hughes.
Dewey’s new rotating crews will help “get that to a much more manageable response level,” Hughes said.
“There’s no real hard evidence as to why daytime rates are increasing, but they are increasing and that’s something that needs to be addressed,” Council Vice President Lynsley Solt said.
“Not just here — it’s a problem that many departments have seen.”
And Council President Thomas Rieger said it's not a cure-all for the department’s challenges with recruitment, but rather “a stopgap measure to give us more time.”
“This is one small price to pay for getting coverage during the day and giving our small amount of volunteers at least some breathing room."Hellertown Council President Thomas Rieger
Because if fire service slows and the department’s scratch rate climbs, respective insurance rates also may see a hike, he said.
“This is one small price to pay for getting coverage during the day and giving our small amount of volunteers at least some breathing room,” Rieger said.
A third-quarter report from the fire company, presented by officials on Nov. 3, shows Dewey is made up of 17 senior/interior qualified members (eight of those qualified to drive company apparatus), five probationary/support members, five junior members and 10 auxiliary members.
'Hats off to everybody'
Delmore said the weekend of Nov. 29 was a busy one for the department.
He said crews responded to a fire at The Moon of Saucon Valley banquet hall, formerly The Meadows, that Saturday.
Officials reported more than 20 departments from Northampton, Lehigh and Bucks counties assisted at the scene.
Then Sunday rolled around with another five calls, including a car rollover. Delmore said it was “just a nightmare.”
“Hats to everybody that was there," he said. "They did a great job,” he said.
