VALENCIA — Deb Cochran, the manager of Furniture at the Firehouse, 68 Dambach Ave., believes a former fire station makes for a great furniture store.

Its features — no steps, wide spaces all on one level fronted by large doors — makes for an easier shopping experience.

Cochran said St. Barnabas Health System bought the building and the social hall in front of the fire station after the Valencia Fire Department merged with the expanded Adams Township Fire Department.

The furniture operation, which opened in September, offers tables, chairs, recliners, sofas, love seats, cabinets and end tables.

“There's no steps and it's easy access. The parking is better for the elderly,” she said. “It's ideal for them to come here and shop because of the wide firehouse doors.

“It's like a diamond in the rough. I find when the customers find us, they like us so much better because there are no steps involved,” Cochran said.

She said, “I would call this a full-line furniture store. We also carry home decor: paintings, lamps and mirrors.

“Every item here has been donated to us. The people around us are very generous,” she said.

“A lot of people in this area, when they buy new furniture, they donate the old furniture that has never been used,” she said.

She added Furniture at the Firehouse has free pickup of donations and free delivery of purchases within a 10-mile radius of the store.

The firehouse operation won't accept mattresses, box springs and televisions.

“With a TV, you can't just throw it away,” said Cochran.

“We actually have the barn, Beautiful Buys, on Route 228,” said Cochran, but added the bulk of the furniture had been moved to the Valencia location.

J.D. Turco, senior vice president and chief financial officer of St. Barnabas which runs retirement communities and clinical services facilities in Gibsonia and Valencia, said, “Last spring we opened the General Store in the social hall. It sells homemade soups and sandwiches made in our kitchens, as well as convenience store items.”

“We moved all the furniture out of the barn on Route 228. We discontinued selling clothing at the farmhouse and moved some furniture into it. It's now Furniture at the Farmhouse,” Turco said.

He added plans for the barn include leasing it out because it sits “in a fantastic high traffic area.”

Cochran said of Furniture at the Firehouse, “This is our primary location now. This is so much easier for people. Since we've been here, I've found the best repeat customers have been grandparents buying for grandchildren who are moving out of the house.”

The store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

The operation is nonprofit with all the proceeds benefiting the St. Barnabas Free Care Fund. The fund, said Cochran is for St. Barnabas residents who “through no fault of their own can't afford the nursing home.”

Turco said 60 to 70 St. Barnabas residents receive some amount of assistance from the fund.

The proceeds are boosted by the fact the furniture store is run mostly by volunteers, 60 of them, who handle the display, sales and repair of the furniture.

Cochran said, “We throw far too many things away. Here, we take care of everything that has been donated to us,”

“We have a workroom with tools and some of the men like to work with their hands,” Cochran said.

As for the cost, Cochran said the store's motto is “Priced Just Right.”

“It's like buying a used car,” said Cochran. “If the quality is there, it's better than buying brand new.

Turco said, “Furniture at the Firehouse has been doing quite well. It's gaining some momentum.”