Volunteer Fire Companies

​Emergencies Dial 9-1-1

Volunteer fire companies are the backbone of fire protection in Upper Providence Township. Township-wide, these organizations as well as the DFES respond to over 600 emergencies annually that range from house fires, commercial building fires, vehicle fires, vehicle crashes, hazardous materials spills, and gas leaks.

Protected by four volunteer companies, each fire company has a "primary" response district in the township. These response districts are based upon the concept of having the closest fire company as the responsible entity. Boundaries of the response districts include geographical features such as streams, rivers, creeks, highways, and property lines.

The volunteer fire companies that protect the township are:
Collegeville Fire Company, Station 34: 610-489-4464
Trappe Fire Company, Station 77: 610-489-2700
Royersford Fire Department, Station 98: 610-948-6234
Black Rock Fire Company, Station  99: 610-666-6400

See who your volunteer fire company is:
Current Fire District-Box Map_2017

​Funding

Upper Providence Township provides several types of annual financial support to all four of the fire companies that provide protection. This support is broken into three categories: general financial support, a volunteer incentive program, and relief money.
For a breakdown of funding history, click here.
  1. General financial support money is given to the fire companies using a formula that takes the area protected, the residential population protected, and the amount of emergencies responded to within their primary district.
  2. Volunteer incentive program money is given to each fire company to reward their volunteers for time spent in training and responding to emergencies. This money is released using a formula that takes into consideration each volunteer's level of training, the amount of training they attend, as well as the number of calls they respond to.
  3. Relief money is given to Upper Providence Township for distribution by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This money is released to the associations using a similar formula to the general allocation. All volunteer relief associations are legally separate organizations from the fire companies themselves. While typically operated by members of the individual fire companies, these associations can purchase and maintain equipment necessary for the safety of the firefighters. The Commonwealth determines annually the available funding by a formula based on the population and the market value of real estate of each municipality. This money is collected from the Foreign Fire Insurance Tax Distribution Law that was passed as part for Act 205 of 1984, the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act (commonly referred to as "Act 205," 54 P.S. 895. 101 et. seq.).