Township to Swear in New Fire Chief

Newtown Township Police Department Lieutenant Glenn Forsyth will be sworn in as the new township fire chief at a meeting tonight at the township

His swearing in will take place at the joint meeting of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors and Newtown Borough Council. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Click here to view the full agenda.

Forsyth, who has been with the township police department since 1984, will start his new job as fire chief on July 1. The township created the position with the goal of establishing a leader to unite the hybrid system of both paid staff and volunteer firefighters. 

Forsyth is a Newtown Borough native and a Council Rock graduate.

According to a letter he submitted to the township, Forsyth has a long family history of fire service. "My grandfather joined the Newtown Fire Association in 1915, my father and several of my uncles have also served in the Fire Association," the letter said. "This tradition continued to my brothers and myself.  I joined the Fire Association as a junior firefighter and became an active member of the association in 1975."

Since joining the association, Forsyth has held many leadership roles, including president, trustee, battalion chief and safety officer.  

Forsyth will report to the township manager. Township Police Chief Rick Pasqualini is currently the interim manager until Kurt Ferguson, , starts in July.

Last year, the township hired Matrix Consulting Group to review the function of its fire and emergency response services. As a result of the study, Matrix offered a series of recommendations. 

One of those recommendations was to create a fire chief position to oversee operations at both the volunteer-based  and the paid staff working at the Emergency Services Department. 

The Emergency Services Department has a fire marshal and eight full-time firefighters, who provide daytime coverage Monday through Friday.  Volunteers at the Newtown Fire Association provide evening and weekend coverage.  

The Newtown Fire Association operates under the command of an elected chief. However,  Chief Andy Errico Sr. was suspended in April amid a state investigation. According to officials, Errico has been suspended pending the outcome of investigations by the Department of Environmental Resources and the Department of Labor and Industry.

In May, township officials announced that nearly 50 candidates had applied for the new fire chief position.