Dewey Fire Co. No. 1 in located at 502 Durham Street in Hellertown. (FILE PHOTO)
Following the resignation of fire chief Matt Simkovic, there is a new person in charge at Dewey Fire Company No. 1 in Hellertown.
“There is transition planning going on up at Dewey as we speak,” borough council president Tom Rieger announced at Monday’s council meeting.
Rieger noted that under the borough code, the assistant fire chief at Dewey automatically becomes acting chief until an election for a new chief is held and council is notified of the results.
Consequently, assistant chief Jon Delmore was named acting chief upon council’s acceptance of Simkovic’s resignation.
Once a new fire chief is elected at a fire company meeting, council must then vote to confirm the individual.
Dewey is scheduled to hold its election next week, Rieger said, and the new chief is expected to be confirmed at council’s second meeting in July.
In his June 2 resignation letter addressed to borough council, Simkovic said he had decided to resign from the position of fire chief “due to added responsibilities in my career.”
“It has been an honor to be the Fire Chief,” he said. “I hope that the short amount of time I held the position was a positive experience for the community.”
“I plan to stay with Dewey Fire Co. No. 1 as a firefighter and to aid with the transition for the new Fire Chief,” he added.
Dewey Fire Company was founded in 1898 and is a volunteer fire company serving the borough of Hellertown.
The company is known for its strong community ties, as exemplified by its annual carnival, which this year will be held from July 11-15 in Dimmick Park.
For more information about Dewey Fire Co., visit DeweyFireCo.org.
The next Hellertown Borough Council meeting is scheduled to be held Monday, July 3 at 7 p.m. Meeting minutes, agendas and other information may be found on the Hellertown borough website.
