Talked about for 3 decades, new Norvelt fire station to be dedicated

Norvelt firefighters no longer have to fold in the side mirrors of their engines to get the vehicles in and out of their station.

They now have four larger truck bays at their disposal in a new station in Mt. Pleasant Township that is more than double the size of their previous cramped one.

The volunteer department is set on Sunday to dedicate the new station along Mt. Pleasant Road, located diagonally on the opposite side of the road from the old station and the organization’s Roosevelt Hall social hall.

After more than 80 years at the old station, including one expansion in the 1970s, the move into a new station is long overdue, fire Chief Matt Zelenak said.

“I joined the department in 1992, and it was a topic then,” he said.

The original station wasn’t designed to accommodate the larger dimensions of modern fire trucks.

Two of the four bays in the new station are 55 feet long, each holding one fire truck. The other two bays are each 90 feet in length.

“That gives us the capability of parking two trucks back to back,” Zelenak said.

The department’s fleet includes: three full-size fire engines; squad and brush trucks, each built on a pickup chassis; and a utility terrain vehicle with a trailer to transport it.

The new station covers more than 7,200 square feet. Construction began in the summer of 2023.

“We have a lot more room to work in,” said department President Lee Speer. “We can even do some training indoors now. We didn’t have that luxury before.”

Among the improved features of the new station are separate areas housing the fire chief’s office and a radio room, with added computer technology.

“We didn’t have a computer before,” said Zelenak. “It’s a more modern station.”

There also is room in the new station for an air cascade system that allows the department to replenish tanks for the firefighters’ breathing apparatus instead of relying on a neighboring fire station for the service.

Other new features that provide an extra level of safety for the firefighters are a system that draws away exhaust fumes while fire engines are running inside the station and a machine that launders members’ uniforms to remove traces of toxic or carcinogenic material they may have encountered at an emergency scene.

There are improved rest rooms and an upgraded lounge area for times when firefighters may have to remain at the station for extended periods.

”The lounge area we had in the old station was part of a truck bay where we threw up a wall and put in some couches,” Speer said. “The new one is bigger, with a built-in kitchenette.”

Zelenak said, with the community’s support of its fundraisers, the department finally arrived at the point where it was able to finance construction of the new station through Somerset Trust Bank, without federal grant assistance.

The new station represents an investment of close to $1 million, according to Speer.

He said the department initially planned to build a new station on the site of the old one, but that idea was abandoned when the cost proved too high. Then, the department turned its attention across the road to a vacant lot it owned and had been eyeing for additional parking.

“We had to come up with a plan B,” Speer said. “We had this property across the road and decided to build a different type of structure” — fitting spaces for vehicles and personnel inside a pole building with a storage loft.

Speer said the old station now is being used as additional storage space.

When the Norvelt department was chartered in 1938, Speer said, “The story goes we started out with six fire buckets and two axes. So, we’ve grown from that.

“It was organized by 11 men and now we’re up to about 65 members, both men and women.”

The department averages between 270 and 280 emergency calls each year, according to Zelenak.

With the new station to call home, he said, “We’ll be here for the future. We’ll be able to provide the necessary service to the community.”