Jeannette moves fire trucks into new station

Fire trucks and equipment are being moved into Jeannette’s new fire station, and officials now are turning their focus to securing funding to add living quarters to the building.

City manager Ethan Keedy expects that work to cost between $1 million and $1.5 million.

“We have one grant submission still out there that’s waiting for a determination on whether or not it’s funded … and then there’s upcoming grants that we can apply for,” he said.

Officials did a final walk-through of the garage, the project’s first phase, on Thursday, which revealed some minor things for the contractor to finish, he said.

The garage provides the department a building that can hold all of its trucks and equipment, Keedy said. Fire trucks have been parked around the city, as the two-bay station attached to city hall isn’t big enough to hold them all.

Site preparation and construction of the new garage, on South Second Street across Clay Avenue from city hall and the current station, was funded by a $1.2 million grant. The grant, initially set to expire at the end of 2024, was extended late last year by state officials.

KGD Contracting, Inc. of Jeannette and Nevaeh Pipe Bursting of Normalville handled the site preparation and construction, respectively. Keedy said the work started in the spring. The garage doors were delayed in arriving, he said, which stalled the interior work for a bit.

Fire Chief Bill Frye said the department has two engines, a ladder truck, a command pickup truck, a fire alarm maintenance truck and a vent truck. They have been parked at the station, city garage and at outdoor lots.

Jeannette officials were forced last year to scale back the fire station project after the lowest bid to complete all of the work came in at $4.17 million. A revised scope had the land and utilities prepared and three-bay garage built in an initial phase.

Plans for the new station have been in the works since 2019, but prices for supplies and construction materials have increased since then. The federal American Rescue Plan grant was awarded in 2022.

The current station, built in 1927, has sewage problems, black mold, termites and asbestos.

Jeannette has the only paid full-time firefighters in the county.