Hempfield supervisors set to approve significant change for Midway-St. Clair fire department

The Hempfield supervisors are expected to vote Monday on an acquisition agreement with Midway-St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department.

If it is approved, Midway- St. Clair would join North Hempfield as the only “nonchartered” fire stations in the township. The move means the township would manage the station and pay all its expenses, while volunteer firefighters can continue to respond to calls.

Township Manager Aaron Siko said firefighters at Midway-St. Clair, in the southern end of Hempfield, have agreed to the acquisition.

“That agreement is very simple in this case, which includes the acquisition of the real estate and all contents within that building,” he said. “So that’s everything all inclusive. The best part out of that is, certainly, the volunteers. They are eager to finish that process and become our next nonchartered station.”

North Hempfield was the first to finish the process in 2021. Its station was renovated in 2023.

Township officials have been working for years to bring all of Hempfield’s fire stations under one umbrella.

A forum is planned for March 8 at the township building to provide information about the nonchartered process to members of those stations, though discussions with most of them are already ongoing.

Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic said he has meetings scheduled with stations in Adamsburg and Carbon early next month.

If the supervisors approve the agreement with Midway-St. Clair on Monday, that will kick start a legal process that would eliminate the department’s chartered status.

There are 10 stations in operation in Hempfield. The 11th, High Park Volunteer Fire Department, closed last year after failing to respond to calls and is proposing a merger with West Point Volunteer Fire Department.

All but two of the 10 stations — West Point and Bovard — have expressed some level of interest in becoming nonchartered, officials said.

“Grapeville and Fort Allen are the next two that want to move forward at a very quick pace,” Siko said, “and the continued conversations with Adamsburg are similar.”

Kovacic said the Midway-St. Clair station will continue to be used for now. Volunteers who staff stations around Hempfield and paid part-time drivers supplement daytime response to emergency calls. If there are enough firefighters available during the day, Kovacic said he sends someone to the Midway-St. Clair station.

“Geographically, I need to keep something in that southern area,” he said.

A state Department of Community and Economic Development study examining the efficacy and efficiency of fire stations in New Stanton, Youngwood and Hempfield is expected to be completed this year.

Township Supervisor George Reese encouraged continued use of the Midway-St. Clair building.

“We are very fortunate to have Youngwood and New Stanton pick up the rear, and a lot of times they’re in the front,” he said. “If we’re going to make this attempt and take on these additional costs … I’d like to see that station continue to be utilized and hopefully someday plan to staff it to shore up the south.”

Reese questioned the long-term plans and impact on the township budget for taking on assets like buildings and equipment through the nonchartered process.

Siko said equipment can be moved among the nonchartered stations or sold. Station buildings might not be acquired if the township doesn’t have a potential use for them.

Officials are looking into possibly building a new station in the West Hempfield area. But, at least in Midway-St. Clair’s case, the current station is needed to bolster response.

“Midway understands that that facility is not geographically located in a spot that it will be in the future,” Siko said. “They know that. And they know that whenever the township ultimately makes that decision to close the doors there, (it’s) going to be possibly before we have something else in place for that long-term goal.”