Bucks County Pauses to Honor Fallen Firefighters

The ceremony was part of National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

At 10 a.m. sharp on Sunday morning, the Doylestown Fire Company’s siren wailed loudly, cutting the crisp autumn air and trailing off into the distant drone of bagpipes. Flags peeked from behind the bushes surrounding the courthouse lawn as 52 firefighters in full uniform processed solemnly up Broad Street for Bucks County’s eighth annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service. Families of 22 Bucks County firefighters killed in the line of duty over the past century joined in to commemorate their brave service to the community. Silhouetted by a giant American flag hung from atop an engine ladder, Joseph Velten, president of the Bucks County Fire Chiefs and Firefighters Association (FC & FFA), began the ceremony by enumerating the firefighters…

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Agreement Reached With Police, Firefighters Averts Layoffs in 2011

But non-uniformed union employees, like public works, rejected the township's concession package and are still at risk of layoffs.

There will be no layoffs of police or firefighters in Newtown Township this year. The township has reached an agreement with the unions representing police and the township’s eight paid firefighters that will avert the possibility of layoffs. The Newtown Township Police Benevolent Association and the Communications Workers of America Local 13000 have agreed to a deal that includes reduced pay increases and a new health plan with higher co-pays, Newtown Township Supervisors Chairman Rob Ciervo said. The agreement with the police extends the current contract -- which was set to expire on Dec 31, 2011 -- to Dec 31, 2013. That means that instead of the police getting a 4.25 percent raise in 2011, they will get a 2.5 percent pay increase. …