Jeannette house will be razed to make way for new fire station

A house on South Second Street in Jeannette will be demolished to make way for a new fire station.

City council on Thursday accepted the donation of the dilapidated property, which neighbors the empty lot where the station will be constructed.

The donated property was deemed a public nuisance in August and testimony then indicated it had broken windows and garbage strewn throughout the backyard.

The fire station project is being completed in phases, but time is running out to spend a $1.2 million grant by the end of 2024. Work has not begun.

Council also approved applying for a $2 million American Rescue Plan grant through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Fire Chief Bill Frye said if the city secures that money, they will likely have enough to complete the project.

The first phase was approved in February and the plan has changed slightly since then, Frye said.

He is now looking to get a truck bay built as part of the first phase, in addition to utilities and site preparation. Construction of living quarters for the full- and part-time paid firefighters will be part of a second phase, he said.

“We’re looking to get substantial completion of a truck bay so we can have all apparatus in one location,” Frye said.

Previously, officials planned for the grant to foot the bill for a structure to be built and heat and electricity installed.

Plans for a new station have been in the works since 2019, but prices for supplies and construction materials have increased since then and officials learned the $1.2 million grant would cover only part of the project. The current station, built in 1927 attached to City Hall across Clay Avenue from the new spot, has sewage problems, black mold, termites and asbestos. It also is not big enough to hold all of the department’s trucks.

Contracts for the project could be awarded by council in May. Jeannette has the only paid full-time firefighters in the county.