PA Fire Department Set to Unveil $3M Headquarters

Jan. 19--HANOVER TWP, PA-- For the new year, the Hanover Twp. Fire Department has a new fire headquarters.

And they are inviting the public to come take a look at their new $3 million home.

Fire officials are hosting an open house Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., to unveil the building at 1586 Sans Souci Parkway, which took years of dreaming, planning and construction.

"This is the future for the young guys," said township Fire Chief Joe Temarantz. "It's a big difference from being cramped up in a two-bay station.

The new station has five garage bays for fire vehicles and ample space to house other apparatus, like the township's water rescue boats.

As a result of the new headquarters opening, the fire department will no longer use aging stations in the Breslau, Preston and Hanover Green sections.

The township ambulance will now solely use the Hanover Green facility and the Breslau station will now be home to the Hanover Area Fire District, an association formed years ago by the six volunteer fire companies in township. Crime watch and the Boy Scouts will also use the former Breslau station.

Temarantz said the new headquarters is the culmination of a decades-long effort to unite as one fire department, rather than try to maintain individual fire department identities.

"That's why everything says 'Hanover Township Fire Department' on it," Temarantz said.

As an example, he noted the Newtown station, No. 2, will now be known as the North station and the Askam/Warrior Run station, No. 6, is now the South station.

But they don't want to forget their roots, he said, so the lobby entering the new station has plaques that recognize all the volunteer departments, along with the fire police and ladies auxiliaries.

To coincide with the new headquarters, the township made the chief's position full-time this year. The new building will have round-the-clock staffing, while the north and south stations will have a paid driver on staff several hours a day.

In order to pay for the state-of-the-art building, the township used $1 million in casino gaming grant money, a $1 million loan obtained by the township, and a loan taken out by the fire department.

When fire crews publicly mulled building a new headquarters on the Sans Souci Parkway, they said they liked idea of putting the station on a major, centrally located thoroughfare. Leadership said the existing stations pinned them in small residential streets with too many turns, blind spots and stop signs.

In addition to location, the new station has an emergency command center, a conference room, several offices, a gym, a sleeping quarters with cots, and a furnished kitchen.

"It's a long way from where we were," Temarantz said.

Sam Guesto, township manager, will serve as master of ceremonies for Saturday's grand opening event. The Rev. Richard Cirba, pastor of Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church in Buttonwood. State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Twp., will offer remarks.

"It's a great accomplishment for the township when you could centralize and bring a state-of-the-art facility to the community," Guesto said. "It will be helpful in many ways."

Hanover Twp. Fire headquarters Grand Opening on Saturday, Jan. 20: