Longtime Butler County Fire Police Assoc. officer retires
The group most often arriving first and leaving last at the scenes of fires, traffic accidents and other emergencies recently lost one their most dedicated members to retirement.
Mark Norton, who became a fire police officer for the Adams Area Fire District in 1990, retired from active duty earlier this month. The longtime first responder was presented with a plaque recognizing his years of service at a picnic earlier this month at the home of Eugene Bartlett, president of the Butler County Fire Police Association and a fire police officer for the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company.
Norton, 64, retired for health reasons, but will continue serving as chaplain. He called the presentation a surprise.
“I didn't know what was going on until I got there” Norton said. “It was a surprise to me all right.”
He joined the fire district as a volunteer firefighter in 1980 and decided to help in a different way by becoming a fire police officer.
“I loved it. I really loved it. I thought it was great,” Norton said.
In addition to keeping people away from active emergencies to prevent interference with emergency responders, Norton worked as a security guard at Mars Area junior and senior high schools, including Friday night varsity football games.
“I just loved everything. It was wonderful. I sure will miss it,” he said.
Joining the ranks of the fire police begins with becoming a firefighter, according to Bartlett. Firefighters hoping to become fire police officers must be nominated by their department chief and confirmed by the city or borough mayor or chairman of the township supervisors in their municipality.
While additional training is not required, the association recommends fire police take classes in hazardous material, basic fire police, advanced fire police and National Incident Management System (NIMS), Bartlett said. Each class is 16 hours.
The association has about 40 members, but membership isn't required to become an officer, he said.
Fire police serve a vital function at emergency scenes and serve the community by providing security at community events and festivals. The association is always looking for more individuals willing to serve.
“You don't have to fight fires to help,” Bartlett said.
He said 12 fire departments in the county have fire police officers and departments that don't can request them from other departments.
“Our old saying is, 'First ones there, last ones to leave,'” Bartlett said.
According to Bartlett, the authority fire police have at emergencies is spelled out in state law.
“We direct traffic, keep people away from the scene. We have the right to detain a person if they're endangering themselves or others. We have the right to keep them out of the area,” Bartlett said. “Even the owner. We can keep them out of their own house until we deem it safe to enter (after a fire).”
Incidents resulting in a person being detained or cited are rare, but they happen. Fire police have to contact a police officer to have someone cited, he said.
Bartlett recalls when police cited a man who showed up drunk at a house fire in Slippery Rock a few years ago and another who was cited after ignoring fire police and a barricade before driving on a flooded road about four years ago.
Fire police take direction from the fire department chief or police officer in charge of fire or accident scenes, he said.
“Our primary function is to protect the firefighters and the police officers while on duty,” Bartlett said. “We direct traffic. We do crowd control. We're firefighters (who) do police work.”
