Company has new building
SLIPPERY ROCK — The Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team's ambulances now have a home of their own.
The $1.2 million, 5,300-square-foot building was completed in May after about seven months of construction.
It is the first of a three-phase project planned for the 5.5 acres the company owns bordering Elm and New Caste streets.
The Slippery Rock Fire Department was established in 1907. It added an ambulance service and change its name in 1974.
Until recently, the firefighters, medical technicians and paramedics have shared space in its old facility, built in 1978.
The rescue team's three advance life support vehicles and the fire department's six trucks were all parked in the station, which also housed the radio room, storage lockers and makeshift kitchen and sleeping areas.
“Our supplies were tucked into every nook and cranny in the fire station. We had outgrown the building,” said Puddie Taggart, medical officer.
The new building solves many space issues. The rescue team now has its own male and female sleeping areas, a day room with a kitchenette, a storage room with ample space for medical supplies, administrative offices and three garage bays with room for a fourth vehicle, if needed.
While the fire department covers a 125 square-mile area surrounding the borough, the ambulance service area reaches out a little farther.
The rescue team responds to about 1,000 calls a year. It employs 13 paid paramedics who staff the station at all hours. It also has eight EMTs, one of whom is paid.
Though they don't know the price yet, the plan's second phase is expected to cost a little less than the first, said Chief Ken Taggart.Phase two is to build a 8,000-square-foot fire hall that will connect to the rescue team facility. Because it has offices and full bathrooms with showers, the fire hall mostly will be garage and storage space, making it less expensive to build, he said.Once finished, the old fire hall will either be torn down or used as a rental property.The third phase involves building a meeting hall to replace the bingo hall, which is in disrepair.The goal is to start construction on phase two by 2019. Since phase one was partially funded by a loan, any money raised in the meantime will go toward paying off that debt.The department received about $7,000 in state grant money this year, which is meant for debt reduction. They will continue to apply for that grant every year until the debt is paid, Puddie Taggart said.Fundraising efforts have included chicken and fish dinners, an odds and ends sale planned for the end of August and other events.The rescue team held an open house on June 20, which garnered positive attention from the community.“I hear a lot of good feedback,” Ken Taggart said.
