By Kristin Wilson-Pike
The Patriot-News
Copyright 2007 The Patriot News Co.
All Rights Reserved
FAIRVIEW, Pa.— The Fairview Twp. Fire Department is getting cozy in its new digs: a $3.5 million building constructed at the site of its former 1950s-era firehouse.
Fairview Twp. officials and fire department members shared the brand-new building with the public during a dedication ceremony yesterday.
“It came out very well,” Supervisor John Mickle said. “The township and the fire company have been working together toward this end for seven years. We have a good public place now for township residents. In the long run, it’s going to be a benefit to everyone in Fairview Twp.”
The new station was built with worst-case scenarios in mind, fire Chief Bill Carlisle said. The building should withstand hurricane-force winds, an F1 tornado, severe flooding -- even a terrorist attack, he said.
“With the old building, the services that we could offer residents -- it satisfied the needs of the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Carlisle said. Emergency needs can be more complex today, he said.
The fire station includes an emergency operation center. In case of a natural disaster, a terrorist threat or a problem with Three Mile Island, the operation center would be used as the command center to coordinate emergency responses, Carlisle said.
“It will be the perfect setup to manage any type of homeland security incident,” he said.
In addition, the new station includes a large social hall that could be used as an emergency shelter.
“When someone is in trouble, where do they go? They come to the fire department,” Carlisle said. “Now, if their house floods, we have a place to put them.”
The fire station will also help Fairview Twp. respond to the increasing number of emergencies, Carlisle said. The department responds to about 650 calls each year. More than half of those calls are vehicle accidents, most along Interstate 83 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
“Every year the calls increase 10 [percent] to 15 percent,” Carlisle said. He attributes the increase to more traffic and more people moving into the township.
It took years of research, planning and discussions to design the new firehouse at 340 Lewisberry Road.
The former building, constructed in the 1950s, was one-third the size of its replacement. The 26 volunteer firefighters made do with the cramped quarters, using their homes to store equipment or supplies for the department.
Station upgrades include a unit to fill compressed air tanks and an area where fire-fighting equipment can be cleaned and maintained properly.
Previously, firefighters cleaned their masks and equipment in the social hall’s kitchen sink.
The new firehouse boasts eight equipment and vehicle parking bays, a fitness room and residential quarters.
The department is planning a college live-in program, offering free housing to full-time students who are certified firefighters or who are actively pursuing certification.
The building’s social hall and a conference room are available to the public.
During the 18-month construction of the building, the fire department’s administrative office moved to Fishing Creek Road. Trucks and equipment were moved to the township’s wastewater treatment plant on Lewisberry Road.
The majority of the funding for the building comes from the emergency and municipal services tax paid by people who work in the township. That tax, $52 per person per year, made the project possible, Mickle said.
“They needed a new firehouse badly,” he said. “We just could never come up with anything that worked until [the emergency services] tax was enacted. We were always looking for a cheap solution before that.”