Submitted photo
From left, Diehl Chevrolet of Hermitage service director Eric Kramer, Vienna fire Chief Richard Brannon and Diehl Chevrolet service worker Anthony Popovitch pose June 14 in front of Brannon’s newly fixed fire vehicle. The dealership’s general manager, Joe Pantone, got Brannon new tires and had other vehicle services done for free. The department is experiencing staffing and financial woes.
VIENNA — The wheels on the car go round and round, but that wasn’t the case for the Vienna fire chief, whose vehicle’s tires were bald – completely.
That’s when Diehl Chevrolet of Hermitage stepped in to provide new tires and vehicle maintenance for the 2016 Ford Utility Police Interceptor, which is fire Chief Richard Brannon’s work vehicle.
Diehl Chevrolet looked to help after hearing about the fire department hardships, which included becoming all-volunteer earlier this year after township officials confirmed there is a $1.3 million debt.
“It made me very grateful that there’s people who watch what’s going on here,” Brannon said. “It’s very heartwarming that they did this for me.
“I thank them from the bottom of my heart that they did this. There’s not enough hugs, handshakes and thank yous out there.”
The act of generosity included free tires, a front-end alignment, the replacement of two tire rods and an oil change.
The dealership’s general manager, Joe Pantone, said he decided to take action after seeing a Vienna fire and emergency services fundraiser in the news.
“Corina Diehl, who owns our dealership, is very pro-help,” Pantone said. “These people are in a tough spot, and it’s no fault of theirs. Anytime we’re able to put our footprint in the cities that surround us, (we do).”
Although invisible, the state line doesn’t stop Vienna, Hermitage and nearby Sharon firefighters from answering mutual aid calls.
“If something were to happen to one of our properties or any of the people’s homes around this area, these fire departments all respond and back each other up,” Pantone said.
Brannon didn’t recall the last time the vehicle’s tires were replaced.
Trustee Phil Pegg said the township still lacks the funds to hire laid-off fire and EMS employees.
The levies for the fire department generate more than $200,000 while the police levies generate over $350,000.
Among laid-off employees is fire Capt. Eric Ginn, who expressed concern about the loss of income and not being able to serve his community.
He’s been with the fire department for nearly two decades.
“There’s a lot of good citizens who support us and love us and pass those levies and stuff for us,” he said. “This is terrible.”
He said since being laid off, he and two other employees at the department have lost their benefits. This includes Capt. Renee Waldo and fire medic Ken Jones.
“They owe us sick time, vacation time, a uniform allowance and we are also supposed to be paid a retention notice,” Ginn said. “I’ve never had a pension payment in 20 years.”
Ginn said he is working some part-time jobs and is searching for a new full-time job, but still plans to volunteer at Vienna’s fire department.