Dickinson Township helps emergency responders get fuel
Closure of Mt. Holly diesel filling station posed problem for local fire company, EMS unit.
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Article RatingWhen a local energy company closed its diesel filling station near Mt. Holly Springs, it left area emergency responders wondering how they were going to fill up their trucks.
But Dickinson Township officials quickly stepped up to the pump.
The township has agreed to allow Citizen’s Fire Company of Mt. Holly Springs and Yellow Breeches EMS to put fuel in their trucks from the diesel pump at the township building.
“At this time, we’re going to Dickinson to get our fuel,” confirmed Tim Yingst, Citizen’s Fire Chief.
According to township and rescue officials, earlier this month, Shipley Energy notified emergency services that they could no longer get fuel.
That posed a problem, especially for the fire company, whose trucks are too large to use most area commercial diesel pumps.
Shipley officials did not return calls from a reporter asking for explanation of the closure.
Dickinson Township officials agreed to permit the companies to get fuel from the township.
“It’s something of no cost to the township to do,” township Manager Ron Reeder explained.
Reeder said the township buys its fuel from ISO Bunker through a bulk purchase plan and should have enough fuel to share. Officials have already included extra fuel in next year’s budget to cover the emergency responders’ needs.
Reeder said future plans call for the emergency services to get their own tank and pump on township property.
“We have space that can accommodate them,” he said.
Though the details of the deals are still being worked out, the fire and ambulance crews are permitted to fill up during daylight office hours when someone is there to unlock the pumps. The fuel purchases will be logged and the companies will be billed for the fuel.
“It’s the type of joint effort municipalities and the Regional Emergency Services Task Force have enabled,” township Supervisor Dan Wyrick explained. “We’re providing them a service to get fuel so they can keep working.”
It’s not the first problem area officials have had recently with Shipley. In June, the Central Pennsylvania Energy Consortium — of which many municipalities, including Dickinson, are members — filed suit in York County Court against the fuel company after Shipley refused to honor the terms of a 2008 fossil fuel bid awarded by CPEC.
CPEC had to re-bid the fuel, but in the meantime, prices had gone up, leaving an overall $2.5 million increase for fuel for CPEC. The consortium agreed to go through legal proceedings to recoup its loss.
