By MICHAEL HIRSCH

Special to The Press

There was one presentation on the South Whitehall commissioners’ agenda for Dec. 21, 2022,­ - the swearing in of fire police for the new year.

The presentation was delayed, however, due to some members who had responded to a crash on Route 22.

Greenawalds Fire Chief Andrew Garger addressed the board.

He gave commissioners copies of the annual report and said he would provide highlights.

“As of this afternoon, we’ve responded to 641 calls,” Garger said.

“That’s an average of just under two calls per day.

“We’re on pace to do about 600 responses for the year.

“We’ve been to 50 working fires this year, both in South Whitehall and some of our neighboring municipalities, 70 percent for emergency medical or rescue calls; 80 percent for service; and 10 calls, 5 percent for hazardous conditions not involving a fire; and about 42 percent of our calls are fire alarms and other false calls.”

Next to speak was Jeffrey Kemmerer, COO of Woodlawn Fire Department for more than 20 years.

“I just want to point out a few things that aren’t in the paper and it is how well all three companies work together,” Kemmerer said. “How well served the people of the township are with their fire service.

“So, when people have the worst day of their life, we can normally get somebody to their door in five or six minutes, which for volunteer companies is impressive, particularly if you compare us to neighboring townships.

“One other thing that’s kind of interesting to me is we have a very diverse hierarchy.

“We all speak English, and we have members who also speak Spanish, French, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Creole and American Sign Language, which I found is amazing that we can have people who can communicate in all those different ways.”

In other matters, commissioners unanimously passed the proposed budget for the 2023 calendar/fiscal year which began Jan. 1.

“I have one word for finance and it’s outstanding,” Board President Diane Kelly said.

The only increases for residents will be water and sewer.

“The majority of these costs are being passed on to us by the Lehigh County Authority,” Commissioner David Kennedy explained.