Derry Township seeks state funds for adding firefighter bunks at Bradenville station

Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department is looking for state funding to help accommodate extended stays by firefighters at the department’s station in Bradenville.

Fire Chief Mark Piantine estimated it would cost about $140,000 to fit out the station’s second story with separate bunk rooms and showers for male and female firefighters. A kitchen and training area also would be included.

Once that work is completed, he said, the department could provide sleeping quarters for up to eight firefighters and might consider starting a program that would allow college-age firefighters to live at the station rent-free while pursuing their studies at any of several area campuses.

“If they’re a firefighter who has the qualifications, they could stay at our place,” said Piantine. “They would still have to maintain their grades at school.”

The township supervisors this month agreed to seek a competitive grant of about $121,000 for the fire station project, through the state Commonwealth Financing Authority’s local share fund. Jim Prohaska, chairman of the supervisors, said township officials aren’t sure when they’ll learn if the grant, tapping a portion of casino revenue, will be approved.

The improvements to the fire station’s second floor would complete the department’s original plan when it opened the $1.8 million building in 2022.

“It was designed for four bunk rooms up there,” Piantine said. “We can put two bunks in each room.”

He said a pandemic-related spike in the cost of building materials caused the department to put a hold on those plans, though some plumbing and electrical and technology wiring were completed.

The bunks could provide a much-appreciated respite for firefighters who may be on duty during an extended emergency.

“A couple years ago we had a big storm come through,” Piantine said. “Some people were (at the station) for three days. They were sleeping on the floor or lying down in the trucks.”

Ultimately, he said, the Derry Township department is hoping to establish a live-in program for firefighters similar to ones in place in Indiana Borough and in Southwest Greensburg.

According to a Southwest Greensburg fire official, most of the participants in that department’s live-in program have hailed from beyond the local community and ended their service when they completed their college studies. But, the department was glad to have the extra help, given the challenge of recruiting members.

Piantine agreed, acknowledging it can be difficult — particularly for those with families — to make the time commitment needed to become a firefighter.

“Today, both parents have to work,” he said. “You have to have 188 hours of training for just the basic essentials of firefighting. That’s a lot of hours.”

The Derry Township department has about 38 members on its roster.

At their September meeting, the township supervisors also allocated a little more than $36,1oo to the Derry Township department, to help meet fire truck payments. Prohaska said that money is derived from a 1-mill fire tax and a $52 local service tax.

The supervisors are seeking an additional state local share grant of close to $30,000, to buy zero-turn mowers that would replace aging models.

“We got refused last time,” Prohaska said of the grant application. “We’ll try again.”