Newtown Fire Rescue has added five new career firefighters to its ranks as it has moved to seven-day-a-week coverage for Newtown Borough and Newtown Township.
The increase in staffing, which began on Thursday, is supported by a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant totaling $1,556,953.
Newtown Fire Rescue now has 12 paid members.
The new firefighters – Ethan Tecker, Meg Cox, Tyler Starkey, Dan Burk, and Lucas Rosenthal – were sworn in on Thursday in a ceremony presided over by District Judge Mick Petrucci.
They were selected from a pool of 48 applicants.
Firefighters Joe Martindell and Steve Katz have been promoted to the rank of lieutenants.
The added staffing means that Newtown Fire Rescue will now provide continuous coverage from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Newtown Fire Rescue posted the below biographies of the new firefighters:
Ethan Tecker: “Ethan is a resident of Wrightstown Township and current Deputy Fire Chief of Lingohocken Fire Company. Ethan started his fire service career with them in 2017 and obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Temple University. Ethan currently works at R&S Equipment in Wrightstown as a heavy equipment mechanic bringing his mechanical expertise to Newtown Fire. Ethan resides on his family horse farm with his fiancé, Katie, who is a local veterinarian. In his free time, Ethan is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys spending time taking care of his farm.”
Meg Cox: “Meg has 6 years in the fire service and has worked at Lower Southampton for the past 4 years attaining the position of Assistant Fire Marshal. Meg resides in Conshohocken Borough and volunteers with Nottingham Fire Department. She started her fire service career after obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science with a certificate in Fire Investigation from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Along with her response roles, she is a nationally certified fire investigator and also acted as the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator. Meg is an avid reader and enjoys the beach & pool. She’s a fan of the flyers, Chicago cubs, and Taylor Swift. Meg enjoys spending a lot of time with family and friends. She says she is looking forward to working with Newtown.”
Tyler Starkey: “Tyler is an entrepreneur owning his own contracting company and started his fire service career with Midway Fire Company in 2009. He is currently a volunteer firefighter with Delaware Valley Fire Company. Tyler is married with two young children, residing in Pipersville, PA. Tyler graduated from the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology for Public Safety and achieved a Bachelor of Science Degree from West Chester in Criminal Justice. Tyler has technical certifications and training in wildland firefighting, as well as water rescue. Tyler enjoys the outdoors, spending time with his young children, and working on renovating his home.”
Dan Burk: “Dan comes to Newtown with 16 years’ experience in the fire service as a volunteer, career firefighter, and EMT. He most recently was employed with Trenton Mercer Airport as a Captain running one of their shifts of firefighters. He has been a volunteer firefighter with Falls Township Fire Company since 2008 and worked at Jefferson Bucks ER for 12 years. Dan is a graduate of Pennsbury High School and attends Bucks County Community College for the fire science program.”
Lucas Rosenthal: “Lucas comes to Newtown from Bristol Township Fire Rescue where he started last year as a firefighter. Lucas currently lives in Doylestown. He also works part time with the Lambertville Fire Department and has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 6 years with Midway Volunteer Fire Company. Lucas went to the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology for Public Safety and followed that with an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science from Bucks County Community college then a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Science and Emergency Management from Purdue University. Lucas is newly engaged to his fiancé, Evelyn. They have been together for 2 years now and they actually met during Newtown’s previous round of testing. When Lucas’s isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his fiancé and his friends. Lucas also has a 10-year-old white Labrador Retriever named Wally.”
