New fire station in the works for Connoquenessing
CONNOQUENESSING — There has been a file labeled “the impossible dream” sitting around the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company station for decades, but its name soon may no longer be appropriate.
The company has plans in the works to build a new fire station at the intersection of Evans City Road and Main Street, and captain Matt McConnell said construction could begin in March.
The fire company has owned the 7-acre property for more than 50 years, and McConnell said the new station is planned to fulfill the growing needs of the company.
“It’s old and inefficient, and we have definitely outgrown it,” McConnell said of the current station. “We’re running out of places to hang gear, guys are getting dressed as trucks are pulling in, leaving — it’s a safety concern, if nothing else.”
Lou Zimmerman, the fire company’s chief, said the company was incorporated in 1935, and the station is a repurposed building that was constructed in the 1800s.
CONNOQUENESSING — There has been a file labeled “the impossible dream” sitting around the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company station for decades, but its name soon may no longer be appropriate.
The company has plans in the works to build a new fire station at the intersection of Evans City Road and Main Street, and captain Matt McConnell said construction could begin in March.
The fire company has owned the 7-acre property for more than 50 years, and McConnell said the new station is planned to fulfill the growing needs of the company.
“It’s old and inefficient, and we have definitely outgrown it,” McConnell said of the current station. “We’re running out of places to hang gear, guys are getting dressed as trucks are pulling in, leaving — it’s a safety concern, if nothing else.”
Lou Zimmerman, the fire company’s chief, said the company was incorporated in 1935, and the station is a repurposed building that was constructed in the 1800s.
The new station is planned to be two stories, with about 20,000 square feet on the first floor. Plans for the building include six drive-through garages, a firefighter lounge, an exercise room, a kitchen and showers, along with a community center.
McConnell said the company applied for a $1.5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which would help cover a chunk of the estimated $5 million cost. He said the company hopes to only have to finance about $1 million of the project, which would mainly be done through fundraising.
“The borough and township both gave us fire tax hikes over the last year. That helps,” McConnell said.
Zimmerman said the department is trying to get ahead of the future needs of the area it covers, which is seeing population growth. After waiting so long to build a new station, he said it is important for firefighters to make upgrades where they can.
“We’re building the station not only for now but for the future,” Zimmerman said. “We want a one-stop emergency services solution that they’re not going to have to worry about for a long, long time.”
Zimmerman also said the company is trying to be proactive in filling its own needs, because it also is a training spot for new firefighters. McConnell said the department is doing “pretty well” with its number of firefighters.
“The younger members coming in now, that they don’t have to worry about this,” Zimmerman said. “I want them to concentrate on training and running the calls. Not buildings or funding or anything like that.”
In addition to filling the needs of the future, administrators of the company are trying to address current needs of the company, especially firefighter health and safety.
“This gear room will have its own ventilation system — cancer is the number one killer of firefighters, so it’ll have ventilation,” McConnell said. “There will be a decon shower, so if we do get into some bad stuff, we can just step out of the truck, shower with our clothes on and get all that off of us.”
The exercise room also is an effort to promote firefighter safety, according to McConnell.
“With heart attacks being the second leading killer of firefighters, we want everybody to be healthy,” McConnell said.
The company has some fundraisers, including a cornhole tournament at Missing Links Brewery and 50/50 raffles at the Butler County Farm Show.
Zimmerman said he is happy to be part of making the project come to fruition after waiting for so long.
“It has been a lifetime,” Zimmerman said.
