Firehouse expansion, new facade planned
Antique truck to be housed in expansion
NORTH WALES A local landmark that has recently been revamped could be adding changes to a neighbor soon.
North Penn Fire Company President Frank Baxter unveiled plans to borough council recently showing an expansion of the company’s firehouse facade styling to a former mill building next door.
“We’re really going to continue the look of, as most of you drive down Main Street and see, what we did to the firehouse. That same theme is going to continue to the mill,” Baxter said.
“The top part will not change, it will just be spruced up and painted, but the bottom part, which will be the house for Bertha, the radio room, and the main entrance will be shifted,” he said.
Starting in early 2017, the fire company has renovated and expanded their current firehouse at 141 S. Main Street, adding a clock tower partially funded by the borough and expanding the station’s engine bays to accommodate a new ladder truck delivered in May 2018.
The next phase of that project is now ready for approvals, Baxter told borough council on Feb. 25. The phase includes changes to the facade of 137 S. Main, the building at left when facing the fire station, which currently features two stories of white stucco and an inset door. The new look would keep the windows on the second floor, but the facade would be colored to match the brown brick of the station next door, with red awnings dividing the first and second floor, a bay window for radio operators to see outside, and a new red engine bay door for pedestrians to see “Bertha,” a model year 1929 engine that served the town until 1958.
“If they do want to bring it out for parades and/or shows, it would be able to be brought out through the garage door,” said Borough Manager Christine Hart.
The company currently has a radio room located toward the rear of the station, but has decided to relocate those facilities to the front of the 141 building, which they own, for better and faster entrance and egress, Hart and Baxter said.
“The purpose of that was to see the trucks down the street. If there’s a big emergency in the borough, this would become the operations center, and we would have plenty of area to sit and direct things by radio,” he said.
The current sidewalk setbacks running along the front of the building would not change, and the company has applied for state grant funding to partially cover the costs, according to Baxter. As council saw a conceptual rendering of the new look, Hart said the plans will go to the borough’s zoning and planning committee for their feedback, have gotten approval from the borough Historical Architecture Review Board, and have now come to council for a certificate of appropriateness.
Councilman Mark Tarlecki asked if the new engine bay for Bertha would contain interior lighting for the antique engine, and Baxter said it would, so those walking by or sitting at adjacent storefronts could see it. Councilman Jim Cherry asked if a tree in front of the station would remain, and Baxter joked “Can I plead the Fifth?” before Hart said the company is aware of borough code requirements that the tree be replaced elsewhere.
“We’ll insist that they plant one somewhere else, like in Weingartner Park,” she said.
“We can handle that,” Baxter replied.
Council voted unanimously to grant the certificate of appropriateness, with thanks to the firefighters for their volunteer service, and compliments on the design.
“The only comment I have is: it’s phenomenal. It’s really a great piece of work. It really enhances the Main Street, and it’s a great building for the borough,” councilman Sal Amato said.
For more information on the North Penn Fire Company visit www.NorthPennFire.com, search for “North Penn Volunteer Fire Company” on Facebook or follow @NPVFC62 on Instagram.
Borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on March 10 at the borough municipal building, 300 School St. For more information visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.