Eastern Berks Fire Department just took a major step toward getting a modern fire station to accommodate 21st century equipment and serve the community well into the future.
Officials have announced that the all-volunteer fire department settled Wednesday on the purchase of 3-plus acres along Route 100 in Washington Township on which to build a fire station.
Located just south of Calvary United Church of Christ, the land was purchased from the Rhodes family, with the assistance of Ryan Weller of Weichert Realty.
Part of the proceeds from the last year’s sale of the Barto station — one of the three stations that had operated at the time — were used for the land purchase.
The fire department will now turn its attention to planning the design of the new firehouse and how to pay for it, Fire Chief Mike Mutter said. Some funds left over from the Barto station sale along Old Route 100 will be used as seed money for the project fund.
A committee will soon be formed to plot the course, the chief said.
The fire department’s two existing stations — one in Bally and one in Bechtelsville — will continue to operate even after a new station is built, which will not happen for several years. Much of the equipment housed in the Bally and Bechtelsville stations will be relocated to the new station when it’s completed.
Mutter said both existing stations lack the space needed for today’s larger apparatus and have access challenges. Additionally, the department doesn’t own either station — they’re owned by the respective social clubs that share those properties.
The Bally station also houses Bally EMS, which could use more space. Moving some fire equipment out of that building will allow the ambulance company to expand.
“Those stations will be utilized much less as we go along with the new station,” the chief said, adding the extent to which they will be phased out has yet to be decided.
Eastern Berks Fire Department was formed out of a 2011 merger of the independent fire companies in Bally, Barto and Bechtelsville.
Much has changed in the fire service over the last two decades, as the ranks of volunteer firefighters dwindle. The proposed fire station is in response to those changes, Mutter said.
“Twenty years ago three fire stations was the norm in this area,” he said. “Now you can’t man, and pay for, three stations. We have to concentrate on doing it right at one location as best as we can.”
The department had been searching for land for the past five years. Every potential site, it seemed, had problems related to zoning or location, Mutter said.
Officials were thrilled to be able to buy this lot which is in the middle of the five municipalities it covers: Washington and District townships; a portion of Pike Township; and Bechtelsville and Bally.
But the property didn’t come issue-free, and one of those complications nearly sunk the deal, Mutter explained.
The parties discovered a deed restriction that had been required by Calvary UCC when the church sold the parcel to the Rhodes family. The covenant required the land remain as open space in perpetuity.
“It’s hard to believe something done 50 years ago can still be a legal requirement for today,” Mutter said.
It took many months for lawyers for the church and Rhodes family and the fire department to iron out the legal issues to nullify the deed restriction and create a new deed.
“Once the church found out that we were interested in it and wanted to have a good thing for the community, they were really excited to have us as a neighbor and maybe work together for projects to help the community,” he said.
The land is in a commercial zone, which doesn’t include institutional uses such as fire stations, but Mutter said Washington Township officials have signaled they have a zoning amendment prepared to clear the way for planning for a fire station.
As for financing the project, Mutter said the department will probably need a loan but officials are hoping to obtain grants to offset the amount of money they’ll have to borrow. The department wasn’t eligible for grants for a new fire station because it didn’t own land on which to build one, the chief explained.
Now that it owns the land, the fire department can start planning in earnest.
“Our first step is we would like to clear it, to make it look nice and put a sign up, and make a plan to not only design the building but how to pay for it,” Mutter said.
Source: Berkshire mont
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