MT. PLEASANT (KDKA) — From a massive warehouse fire in 1998, to the many smaller blazes in years that followed, Mt. Pleasant volunteer firefighters and their brothers and sisters nationwide put their lives on the line with every call.

Jerry Lucia has been a volunteer firefighter for 37 years – the last 22 as chief. During that time, he has seen a tremendous decline in volunteers.

“The average young fellow today that has two children, a wife works and he works, does not have the extra time to put into all that training,” he said.

Shops and businesses on Main Street have confidence those firefighters will come through, should the need arise. Now many of those businesses are coming through for them.

One of those Main Street merchants is Levin Furniture. It’s one of many stops Mt. Pleasant Borough Manager Jeff Landy will make as he recruits shop and restaurant owners to take part in a unique thank you program.

“Ask the stores to participate in a program where we would do a sort of like a coupon booklet that would offer discounts to the businesses in town and we’re gonna give it to the fire department to the volunteers,” he said.

The discount coupons, good for one year, would only be available to volunteer firefighters and ambulance members in Mt. Pleasant.

“You have something to say thank you,” Lucia said.

RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Reports By Dave Crawley