A Beaver County fire department said it will stop servicing its community in 2026 if the borough doesn't take action to pay its staff.

Big Beaver Borough Volunteer Fire Chief Matt Straub said these days, when there is a fire call, the department does not know who will show up. It could be one or two members of the company. There's no draw to join the department anymore, and its membership is aging out.

"We used to have a waiting list back in the day for people to be members here, and those times are gone," Straub said. "The people that are here now, we're here because we feel obligated. If we all walk away, who's going to do it? And unfortunately, that's what we're looking at now, and it breaks our heart."

However, that's what will happen after the fire department sent a letter to the borough council on Friday, providing a 60-day notice that it wouldn't offer fire and emergency services to Big Beaver starting Jan. 1, 2026.

"We don't have the manpower. We can't do it safely or efficiently," Straub said.

Straub said the department first approached the council in 2019 about a growing critical shortage with volunteer staffing, and the past two years have been them working together to come up with a plan to pay staff with full coverage.

"The council, unofficially, had told us that we know we need to do something. We know that you need the manpower, which is the issue, and the only way to get it is through paid staffing," Straub said.

At a town hall in May, Straub said people in the community spoke out in favor of the idea, even if it came with a tax increase.

Though the council didn't take any action until a meeting on Oct. 25, when it voted down a proposal to hire only one fire administrator and to provide a timeline for paying part-time firemen.

"Hundreds and hundreds of manhours we spent on this, and for them to vote 'no' is just a slap in the face," Straub said.

Straub said it came after the mayor told the department days earlier that it is under budget for 2025, and could technically hire a fire administrator before the end of the year. He just hopes leaders can find a solution to continue to protect the community.

"They have to be held accountable, and they haven't been, and that's why we made the decision to move forward how we are," Straub said.

KDKA reached out to the mayor and council members for comment, but did not hear back on Monday. 

KDKA also reached out to the closest paid fire department, Beaver Falls, to see if it has been contacted to cover services in the area. The chief said so far, his department has not.