It was a moment of appreciation for the staff, board of directors and one special maintenance technician from the Thomas Campbell Apartments at the South Strabane Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. The township recognized the group because of their efforts in a January 22 fire that was quickly contained and caused minimal damage to the building. Fire Chief Jordan Cramer issued Certificates of Appreciation to the Board of Directors of the Thomas Campbell Apartments for installing a nearly $2 million state of the art fire alert and sprinkler system. He honored the staff for their efforts in aiding the fight of the fire and he honored Lester Pirillo. Pirillo is a maintenance technician that was alerted to the fire by the alarm system. The system told him exactly where the fire was located. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and immediately attacked the fire, bringing it under control until the fire department arrived. Cramer praised the board for their investment in the system. Board of Directors Chairman Pastor John Owen praised Cramer on his efforts to convince the board to invest in the system. The fire comes just over 3 years after a fire in December of 2021 that claimed the life of one resident and displaced more than 50 others for 2 years. The January fire did claim one life, but damage to the building was limited to the unit where the fire was located.