Newportville Fire Company Says Bristol Twp is Forcing it to Close

Updated  Monday  July 13 2026 1:10 p.m. 

An apparent fight no public official ever wants to have has now spilled into the public domain Sunday night.

Newportville Volunteer Fire Company No 1 station-12/82  (NFC)  posted a statement alleging Bristol Township at the August Council will be voting to close the station down that has served the community for close to 100 years.

The entire statements reads as follows: 

Newportville Fire Company No. 1 has been informed that Bristol Township Council is expected to vote at its August Council meeting on an ordinance that would eliminate our company and end our ability to serve the residents of Bristol Township.

This proposed action would end nearly 100 years of service to our community. Since 1927, Newportville Fire Company No. 1 has responded to emergencies, protected lives and property, and supported our residents whenever needed.

We are especially concerned because this comes after two years of significant effort to address the Township’s concerns. During that time, we have corrected and stabilized our finances, implemented accountability measures, improved operations and significantly reduced response issues.

Despite these improvements, the Township is now considering closing a volunteer fire company that has served this community and has taken substantial steps to strengthen its operations.

We believe eliminating a fire company should be a last resort, after all alternatives have been explored and meaningful discussions have taken place. Our leadership and legal counsel have sought meetings with Bristol Township officials to discuss solutions, but those requests have all gone unanswered by the Township.

The proposed closure raises serious concerns about public safety, emergency response coverage, and the burden on neighboring fire companies. At a time of continued growth in Bristol Township, reducing emergency resources deserves careful public consideration.

We encourage residents to stay informed, attend the August Bristol Township Council meeting, and make their voices heard before any final decision is made.

Newportville Fire Company No. 1 remains committed to serving the community and advocating for solutions that strengthen public safety.

The statement release comes on weeks of speculation about NFCs future after a recent June 1 deadline passed in which an ultimatum for NFC’s future was made where they would be forced to merge with Third District Volunteer Fire Company, according to a number of sources.

Bristol Twp Fire Companies in response to a small house fire in Winder Village recently
Credit: Jeff Bohen, Lower Bucks Source

The deadline came and went, however, it was all the talk among first responders in the Lower Bucks County area.

“Who goes to war with volunteer fire companies?” one veteran first responder asked,  in a comment made to LBS on the condition their name remained confidential.

A second area first responder made a more administrative friendly comment last week, saying financially sustaining, in part, all the fire companies in the municipality was going to have to end at some point.

“It’s consolidate or die” the first responder source said “look at what Bensalem has done. All the work being done in Bristol Borough. The writing has been on wall for years now,” in terms of reducing the number of companies serving the township.

Third District Fire officials did respond to requests for comment Sunday.

Nor did Bristol Township Council President Craig Bowen or Councilman Joe Glasson who acts in many instances as a special liaison to the five volunteer fire companies serving the municipality.

The township now also has career firefighters coming out of Bristol Township Fire Rescue, which operates as part of the emergency management and the fire marshal’s office.

A  complicating factor NFC has to have been the arrest of former Fire Chief Fred Black for the misappropriation of $32,000 funds.   Reports of the investigation were in the public realm for about one year before Black was officially changed. He is due back in court on August 19 for a preliminary hearing and is represented by Paul Lang, Esq. That hearing is now scheduled to take place before District Judge John Galloway. It was originally scheduled to be heard by District Judge Terry Hughes. The move was made back  in March of this year.

Credit:
Newportville Fire Company

Officials told Lower Bucks Source, last spring  a contingency plan is ready to go for when and if NFC closes.

“We believe eliminating a fire company should be a last resort, after all alternatives have been explored and meaningful discussions have taken place,” the company said as it is encouraging residents to come to the August Council meeting to voice their concerns about the potential fire station closure,” NFC officials said.

No word on whether or not NFC would seek legal action against the township if it were forced to close.

A 2020 fire study recommended Newportville and Third District combine stations, resources etc. Those plans for reasons that remain unclear, stalled in late 2022. Subsequently that lead to the now being constructed firehouse for the township fire services at the municipal complex. The original plan, had  NFC and Third District moving into that space to share with township fire services.

Township Manager Randee Mazur in an email exchange Sunday evening said the township will have a statement out tomorrow (Monday) morning, however, shortly thereafter the township released a full statement that in many ways relies on community safety reasons for potentially closing NFC.  You can click here to view that statement.