North Strabane emergency services move into new public safety building
After about three years, North Strabane’s career firefighters and police officers have started to operate out of the new public safety building.
Mark Grimm, the township’s emergency management coordinator, said both departments moved into the facility about two weeks ago. The building replaced the former fire station at 2550 Washington Road.
“We’re still trying to work the bugs out. We still have some stuff that we’re going through,” Grimm said this week.
In June 2022 North Strabane’s board of supervisors approved a $7.6 million construction contract and $1.2 million plumbing contract with Spartan Construction Services for the project. A $1.2 million electrical contract was awarded to Allegheny City Electric Inc.
Construction hit a snag last year when Spartan Construction went bankrupt, according to Grimm.
Township Manager Andy Walz said contractors are still completing some work at the building, and could not provide a final price tag for the building.
“We were able to utilize bond proceeds that we borrowed a number of years ago,” Walz said of how the building was funded.
He added that the township also made use of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, and a $1 million grant from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
The police department operates out of one side of the public safety building while the fire department occupies the other. The second floor has a lounge room with furniture donated by the volunteer firefighters, dormitories and a laundry room.
“The biggest thing is each department didn’t have enough room. The police were working out of a police department that was probably a quarter of the size of what they have now,” Grimm said.
On the police side, the main room contains several desks and large monitors on the wall that display video feeds from traffic and surveillance cameras throughout North Strabane.
Officers also now have five holding cells to detain arrestees. The previous building on Route 519 had none.
The fire department side is easily recognized by the large garage where the trucks are located. There is also space for Ambulance and Chair vehicles.
The facility has some shared amenities between police and firefighters, including a fitness center and a training room.
According to Grimm, the location suits emergency services as most of the calls they answer are along the Route 19 corridor. Being in the same building allows for more effective communication between both departments.
“They do a lot of training together,” Grimm said. “It made it a lot easier for us to be together.”
There is still work to be done within the building, as some rooms are not totally furnished. Grimm said those efforts are ongoing, even as firefighters respond to about five to seven calls a day.
“It just gets busy. And the police department, they’re always busy. We’re getting there. We’re very fortunate to have what we have,” Grimm said. “The last three years for us have been a little hectic, but now that we have this we can kind of settle down and concentrate on what we need to do.”
Grimm said the township will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony sometime in July.