MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — For years, the West End Volunteer Fire Company near Brodheadsville has dealt with a fire station that doesn't fit their ladder truck, but in just two months, a project to build a new fire station is expected to break ground.
"There are leaks. It's old buildings. It's very costly to maintain. You know, we don't really use the hall that much anymore, just kind of looking for something new, something that will do better for us," said Jeffrey Weiss, president of the West End Volunteer Fire Company.
The project has been in the works since 2013 after Chestnuthill Township completed a need-analysis study. The study found the township and fire company needed a better space for emergency operations.
David Albright, the Chestnuthill Township manager, says the project costs $11 million.
It will be a complex that houses the fire company, an ambulance service, and the township emergency operations center, now located inside a closet in the township meeting room.
"Computers and phones in, so when we have bad weather, we'll pull all those items out, set them up on the meeting room table, and call in our personnel to man the facility. So it'll be nice to have a facility that is set up and ready to go," Albright said.
The current West End Fire Company is on Route 715. The plan is to build the new emergency operations center across the street.
"It's a level of security that everything is going to be under one roof. It's going to be centrally located. We're going to be able to get to emergency responses very quickly, and it's going to allow us to be able to go from Brodheadsville with what we need for the surrounding community," Weiss said.
The township is also looking into sharing the space with surrounding municipalities, the county's 911 center, and the county's office of emergency management.
If all goes well, the building will be completed by the summer of next year.
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