After 15 years of service from the Ben Avon fire department, Ben Avon Heights emergency calls will be answered next year by the Avalon Volunteer Fire Company. Of possibly even greater significance, however, is the fact that the change is being laid squarely at the feet of Ben Avon’s elected officials at a time when a joint Avonworth community fire department is being proposed.

Heights council president Mark Davis said that the unanimous decision by the Heights council to switch to Avalon in 2012 was not a reflection of the Ben Avon Volunteer Fire Company, which he said had delivered “outstanding” service.

“It has to do with the negotiating tactics of Ben Avon Council,” Davis said.

Although Davis declined to comment on the specifics of those “tactics,” he noted that the contract with Avalon is very simple and has “no strings attached.”

An e-mail from Ben Avon Council member Michael Bett to residents of Ben Avon Heights may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. In the e-mail, Bett attempted to rally Heights residents to attend Wednesday’s Ben Avon Heights Council meeting by maintaining that public safety was being put at risk in a way that would cost property owners.

“Going from a highly rated fire service company... to Avalon will likely increase your homeowners’ insurance while decreasing your public safety,” Bett said. “Do you really want to put your community at risk?”

Bett made reference to the fact that while Ben Avon’s emergency vehicles are “modern,” Avalon has 27-year-old trucks that have been out of service due to mechanical failure several times in the past years.

What’s more, the e-mail links the fire service contract to other services and programs, stating that the benefits of continuing to contract with Ben Avon for fire services include “an opportunity for significant cost saving for police protection...which could far exceed the price of fire protection. This only makes sense to Ben Avon to consider if we are sharing other emergency services.”

Another benefit, according to Bett’s e-mail, is that the Heights would have a “seat at the table” in the formation of a joint Avonworth area fire department that would consolidate the Emsworth and Ben Avon volunteer fire companies to provide service to communities now served by one or the other of the departments.

The contract proposed by Ben Avon would have charged the Heights $12,100 in 2012, with a 3 percent increase annually over the five-year term of the agreement.

The contract with Avalon calls for the Heights to pay a flat fee of $10,000 per year for five years.

With regard to any questions about Avalon’s equipment or training, Davis said that the contract requires Avalon to meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, which, he said, Heights officials have been assured is already the case.

He noted that Avalon firefighters have always been the second responders for fire calls in Ben Avon Heights, and that the borough already has a contract with Avalon for winter road maintenance and street repairs.

“We’ve had a good relationship with them,” Davis said.

Davis called the contract with Avalon “a pretty good deal for our borough, our taxpayers.”

Avalon borough manager Harry Dilmore had said previously that the money from the Heights contract will go directly into the borough’s firetruck fund so that new equipment can be purchased.

Heights officials called the threat of insurance increases a “red herring.”

“The only thing my insurance company has ever asked me is where is the nearest hydrant,” Davis said.

Ben Avon fire company representatives wanted Heights officials to be clear that they were not involved in drafting or negotiating the contracts presented by Ben Avon to the Heights.

“We had nothing to do with the contract,” said fire company president Jim Rupert.

“I’m sorry it’s come to this,” said fire chief Gary Buckman.