The newly renovated South Side Fire Station in Hazleton will take the place of three firehouses.
Given the steady progress of a construction project at the newly expanded South Side Fire Station, city officials believe firefighters should be able to move in by the months end.
Project architect Arthur D. Sweeney and Gregg Pavlick of the Barry Isett and Associates Inc. engineering firm provided a station tour last week.
New additions in the approximately $700,000 project include a meeting room with a kitchen and canteen, a handicapped-accessibility ramp on the east side entrance, and three offices for the three fire stations -- Heights, Pioneer and East End -- that are being consolidated into the expanded station.
New handicapped-accessible restrooms are located in the new rear section of the former East End station. An addition on the buildings front allowed expansion of the vehicle bay, which can accommodate four firetrucks. Previously, the bay could only fit two vehicles.
The bays new section has a heated floor, which Sweeney said is more heat-efficient than having hot air blowers near the ceiling.
Other new features at the station include a cascade room where the oxygen tanks can be filled and equipment stored behind the engine bay. The oxygen apparatus has not been installed. The room west of the cascade room will now serve as a pension office.
A remodeled bunk room contains four small closets that will serve as lockers for full-time fire drivers on duty and four day beds that can fold into the walls when not in use.
South of the bunk room is a remodeled day room where firefighters can take a break or relax when their work is complete. The room also contains a control panel for the bay doors, an automated traffic light to be installed in front of the Broad Street firehouse and the siren on the stations roof that sounds when firefighters are dispatched.
The fire station was originally scheduled to open in December, but problems with fill behind the original structure pushed that date back.
Pavlick said the fill was the only real challenge his firm encountered on the project.
Pavement previously used for parking behind the old structure and the fill beneath that could not support the addition had to be replaced. That added $100,000 to the project.
The city obtained a $500,000 five-year loan from PNC Bank at a 2.66-percent interest rate to cover most of the projects cost. City administrator Sam Monticello said the city will use Community Development Block Grant money or capital budget funds to pay about $200,000 in remaining construction costs.
Pavlick said his firm did not test the fill before the project began because doing so at an existing building is not standard practice.
Remaining work includes cleaning and sealing the new brick exterior and installing wiring, a vehicle exhaust removal system and a fire and smoke detection system.
Monticello said he expects installation of the detection system, which is necessary to obtain a state occupancy permit, to be complete by the months end.
Although firefighter Dave Fatula said the firefighters would move in after the exhaust removal is installed, Monticello said the station could be opened for use before then.
Sweeney said firefighters will be able to attach hoses to engine exhaust pipes upon returning to the station after a fire, and the new exhaust removal system, which will be installed on overhead rails, would disengage the hoses as the engines were driven out of the bay.
Fatula, who represented Hazleton City Fire Fighters Local 507 on a committee that oversaw the stations design, said the city and architect worked with firefighters to ensure their concerns were addressed. He said hes looking forward to moving into the South Side station.
I think itll be nice to have three guys in the station. Well be able to get a lot more work done. Now we can do a real pre-shift test on the truck. ... Its just good to have more than one person in a station, Fatula said.
