BRESSLER, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from April 4.
Swatara Township officials on Thursday issued an update of their investigation into allegations of racial discrimination at a local volunteer fire company.
Friendship Fire Company of Bressler was suspended from operation earlier this month after a complaint was filed claiming there were multiple instances of racial discrimination at the fire company and its associated social club, Township officials said in an update to the investigation posted on its Facebook page.
Several past and present members of the fire company were interviewed as part of the investigation, which was initiated by the Township as a follow-up to an investigation of similar allegations by the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General in 2022.
"The current investigation addresses public safety services and will also examine which volunteer firefighters associated with the Friendship Fire Company of Bressler, if any, are permitted to return to active service pending the completion of the investigation," the Township said in its update. "The current preliminary interviews have presented some firefighters with the option of immediately returning to service with Swatara Township Fire Rescue, although not with the Friendship Fire Company of Bressler, which remains suspended."
Among the allegations conveyed to Township officials are claims that prospective firefighters were denied membership at the fire company based on their race, active firefighters "imitating the existence of racially discriminatory practices within the fire company to members of the public," and multiple accounts of racially discriminatory practices within the company and its social club, officials said.
The Township said it will forward allegations of racial discrimination at the company's social club to the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General for a separate investigation.
In the meantime, Township officials said, the fire company's suspension remains in place while the investigations are ongoing.
"Swatara Township is a diverse community and is committed to ensuring that the appropriate action is taken regarding these serious allegations," officials said. "The Township wishes to reassure the public in the strongest terms that Swatara Township's Fire-Rescue readiness and capabilities remain at strength during this investigation and public safety will not be negatively affected."