Volunteer fire apparatus that serve Jim Thorpe are combining efforts to form a new rescue operation, called Onoko Fire and Rescue.

According to a Thursday news release, three companies in the borough - Fairview, Phoenix and Marion - are merging.

The resulting company, named after the original one located in East Mauch Chunk, will have about 25 active members.

It will also operate out of Jim Thorpe’s east side.

While the companies’ names may have changed, their coverage will not; the release estimates that Onoko Fire and Rescue will respond to more than 100 calls per year.

“Volunteers from the organizations agreed that a merger was the best path forward for the residents of Jim Thorpe, surrounding communities and members,” said Frank Lauth, president of the Fairview Hose Company.

Bill Diehm, a lifelong member of the Marion Hose Company and Jim Thorpe’s deputy fire chief, agreed.

“The merger of the Fairview, Phoenix and Marion fire companies allows us to start a new chapter in the history of firefighting and service to the residents, businesses and visitors of Jim Thorpe,” Diehm said.

As a borough, Jim Thorpe gave the green-light for a municipal fire company back in 2017, citing a desire for greater oversight when it came to finances and personnel.

The change was fueled, in part, by a 2016 audit of the East Mauch Chunk Firemen’s Relief Fund, in which more than $6,000 in undocumented expenses were reported.

When the municipal company was formed, all firefighters had to apply for membership, even if they had previously served within another Jim Thorpe rescue.