Orwigsburg is a growing community in Schuylkill County and now volunteers at the borough’s lone fire station say it’s time for them to grow. Quite simply, they’ve outgrown their cramped quarters on Liberty St.
Last Friday, members of Friendship Hose Co. No. 1 officially launched an ambitious $6 million capital campaign to build a new station house at the site of its current quarters. It’ll take a combination of federal, state, and local funds to make it happen.
“To bring this from a concept to a reality will not happen alone,” Orwigsburg Fire Chief Scott Rarick says.
What the fire department wants to do is construct a modern, two-story station house at its current location.
Orwigsburg Fire Dept. covers its home territory and 25 surrounding municipalities. Many of the areas it covers are growing and growing quickly.
“We are designing this building with the future in mind,” Rarick says. “We’re building this building to last 100 years. As we are all witnessing the growth of our area, we must grow with it.”
The new building will be much larger and have space to accomodate the needs of the fire department. What’s currently on Liberty St. barely fits what equipment and apparatus Orwigsburg FD currently has. It’ll also have new safety features, like an air exchange system that removes diesel fumes and a wash area to clean and decontaminate gear after crews return home from a call.
A fitness center is also planned for the new building. Currently, when firefighters want to work out at the station, it requires moving apparatus and is essentially a workout in itself just getting set up for it.
Rarick says the new fire station will also serve as an emergency operations center for Orwigsburg and as an evacuation shelter. He says there have been three instances over the past three years in which an evacuation shelter was needed in the borough.
The new station will also serve as a more suitable training area for firefighters.
“Often times, we don’t have the room in this fire station to house the training attendees. That’s a logistical issue for us,” Rarick says.
To contribute to the Orwigsburg Fire Dept. Capital Campaign, a PayPal account has been established to accept donations. More ways to donate are planned for the near future.
You can donate by following the QR code below or this link to PayPal.
A Casino Gala is planned for April 26. You can check out more information on that event and more about the fire department, including its history that dates back about 200 years at orwigsburgfire.com.
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