NEW BEGINNINGS
Officials break ground for new $3.5M Limerick Fire Station on West Ridge Pike
Limerick Fire Company members and officials gathered Oct. 29 to make their first marks on what will be a new fire station to meet the township’s future needs.
Township and state officials, Limerick firefighters and well- wishers converged at the Limerick Fire Station on West Ridge Pike to begin the first phase of construction on the new facility designed to better equip firefighters for the demands of the job.
Following a brief prayer, state Rep. Tom Quigley, state Sen. John Rafferty and several other officials addressed the public. Following an introduction of the building committee, Limerick Fire Company President Thomas Walters gave a brief history of the fire station and pointed to the ground breaking as the beginning of a new era for future generations of firefighters.
“What we’re going to be doing today is the beginning of what we hope will be a 35 to 40 year plan that takes Limerick Fire Company and moves it forward in the changing volunteer fire fighting environment and growth that Limerick Township has had over the past 20 years,” said Walters.
As the building committee members dug their shovels into the ground, applause could be heard fromthe crowd of firefighters and families that showed up to support the volunteers.
Construction on the new $3.5 million facility is expected to be-
gin on or about Nov. 5 and will offer a host of capabilities for the all volunteer force that previously were not possible.
Limerick Fire Chief Ken Shuler explained that with the growing population of Limerick Township, the fire company is working hard to keep up. Currently, the fire station lacks room for important equipment items that consequently have to be stored at different locations, leaving the department with a 20-minute delay when responding to calls, according to Shuler.
“When the community grows, all the services have to keep up and we’ve outgrown this building years ago,” said Shuler. “We have equipment that sits outside. We have equipment that sits at the airport. So now we’ll be able to bring everything back in house. So we’re really excited about it.”
The new facility will feature space for those pieces of equipment, as well as space for members to sleep while staffing the station during weather events and other emergencies. Additionally, the new building will include spaces for training and study rooms for more than 70 firefighters to meet mandated training certifications, equipment and radio rooms and administrative offices. It will also have accommodations to maintain emergency medical services stagging and a space to support the Township Emergency Operations Center.
As construction takes place, firefighters are operating out of two temporary locations, behind the township public works building and out of a building located at the former Teleflex property on Lewis Road.
“The township managers and supervisors have been fabulous. They’ve been supportive and they under- stand how the volunteers save millions in this township alone. So they’ve been very supportive of our program over the last couple years and this has really been the first step to show that they were really onboard,” said Shuler. “So we’re excited for the Limerick Township community.”