Callery fire chief appointed to emergency management job with Adams Township
Who better to have as emergency management administrator than a local fire chief and lifelong resident?
Callery Volunteer Fire Company Chief Curt Huffman has been appointed as the emergency management administrator for Adams Township. After 30 years with the company, and 20 as a chief between Mars and Evans City, Huffman is ready for a new challenge.
“It’s a little bit of a different hat to wear,” Huffman said. “It’s not really just handling incidents, it’s a lot of planning (and) supporting the other services if they need anything.”
Huffman was appointed at the Jan. 6 township meeting. He said he needs one more class to get his municipal certificate and is meeting with county agencies and other emergency management administrators to learn more about the job's unique situations. He’s also working with previous emergency management administrator Scott Foreman, who created the township’s response plans.
“It’s one of those jobs you hope you never have to use,” Huffman said.
Huffman will continue as the company’s fire chief, handling the administrative duties, while assistant chief Randy Hoffman Jr. handles the operational side. He’s also worked for Cranberry EMS for about 25 years and still works two 24-hour shifts per week. Huffman took time to consider the share of responsibilities between the three jobs before accepting the emergency management administrator position.
“He’s a very good candidate,” Adams Township supervisor Russ Ford said.
Ford said the emergency management administrator must have the connections to make coordinating between emergency responses easier.
Ford said the position has only been heavily utilized once during heavy flooding a few years ago.
One of the challenges Huffman anticipates facing is who will pay costs that may be incurred when working with outside agencies. Huffman has been on rescue missions where private entities had to be called for private resources. He hopes to work out those logistics when talking with other county emergency management administrators.
Further into the position, he plans to compile a municipal report with the incidents and spending for township and county officials, similar to his report for the fire company.
He also plans to utilize the township website more for public communication.
Huffman was been with the fire company his entire firefighting career. He had his daughter in the area when he was 19 and remembered living near Butler with no Walmart, a much more narrow Route 228, and a handful of houses in Callery. With the additional houses comes the additional risk of an emergency.
“When I first started, we were running 100 calls (per year,)” Huffman said. “Now, 100 calls can be done in a couple months. The amount of growth we’ve seen in (Adams) Township is unbelievable.”
The fire company runs about 600 calls per year, about 550 being fire-related, covering Callery borough and about a third of Adams Township. Volunteer numbers have remained consistent despite the increased call volume, so firefighters work more hours. Huffman said he contributes about 2,000 hours yearly, and Hoffman contributes about 1,800.
