Broomall firefighters get look at new headquarters

Broomall Fire Co. members no longer need to try and visualize their new station.

The company has entered into an agreement with Bernardon, the Kennett-Square based architectural firm which has completed a rendering of the new headquarters. The volunteers will be moving from their current site, 10 Malin Road, to the grounds of the former Marple Grade School, 2641 West Chester Pike. The one-story building will occupy a portion of the 10.55-acre, township-owned parcel.

The 25,000-square foot station will replace the 60-year-old firehouse, which is insufficiently sized to accommodate modern apparatus and obsolete relative to recent advances in fire-fighting technology. The company serves the township’s 11 square miles and excess of 24,000 residents, in addition to a large portion of the Blue Route, and the new facility will help to significantly improve functionality and optimize response time. The firm has provided design services for more than two dozen fire, safety and emergency services organizations, including East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association and Minquas Fire Co. No. 2 in Downingtown, both in Chester County.

“The new station will make BFC a more responsive and efficient operation and will allow us to continue to serve the Marple Township community for decades to come,” said President Jim Capuzzi.

Funding will be provided by a $3.25 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant and $3 million committed by the commissioners. The company has suggested giving the township the existing firehouse, with the idea of converting the building into a senior or community center and repurposing the annex as a police sub-station.

The new facility is expected to be completed in early spring 2019.

Written by Leslie Krowchenko; Published by the Delco Daily Times