Fire Departments Halt Service Due to Lapse in Workers’ Compensation

Last week, two volunteer fire departments in Vandergrift Borough, Pennsylvania suspended their services because their workers’ compensation insurance policies lapsed.

State law requires fire departments to have the coverage.

Because of the lapse in insurance, the firefighters could not respond to 911 calls. However, according to Mayor Lenny Collini, the borough arranged for backup from neighboring fire departments for “uninterrupted emergency response coverage” until the insurance issue is fixed. The policy should be reinstated this week, the mayor said in a letter to residents.

The borough became aware that the workers’ compensation policy had lapsed on Friday April 10, which the mayor said meant the policy could not be reinstated until this week. The mayor did not explain how or why the lapse in insurance happened.

Workers’ compensation insurance covers the cost of medical care and rehabilitation for injured workers, lost wages, and death benefits for the dependents of those killed in work-related accidents. In 2025, five Pennsylvania firefighters lost their lives on the job, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Between 1990 and 2024, there were 278 on-duty firefighter fatalities in Pennsylvania.

Almost 90% of the fire departments in the state are volunteer.

Vandergrift, with a population of about 5,000, is about 30 miles northeast of Pittsburgh