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Posted on Tue, Jul. 8, 2008
Bryn Mawr Fire Company may get repairs
By Nick Pipitone
Inquirer Staff Writer

Starting in a few weeks, the Bryn Mawr Fire Company may not be responding to calls from its historic Lancaster Avenue firehouse for the first time in more than 100 years.
If Lower Merion Township commissioners give the go-ahead at a public meeting tomorrow night, the company will relocate to nearby Ashbridge Park for 10 to 12 weeks while repairs are made to the firehouse's structurally inadequate first floor.

The firefighters would set up shop under a fenced-in tent in a typically unused section of the park beside the tennis courts.

"It is not optimal, but they've assured me it will only be temporary," said Commissioner Philip Rosenzweig, whose Sixth Ward includes the park. "It's a vital function, so of course we're going to accommodate them."

The concrete floor of the 1906 firehouse needs to be reinforced, company president Charles Dolan said. Similar work was done 25 years ago when the company obtained a ladder truck. Since then, the metal reinforcements have rusted.

"It's a collapse issue if it's not taken care of," said Charles McGarvey, Lower Merion fire marshal, who noted that the firefighters occupy the basement.

Finding a location in this small community was no easy task, though. Rosenzweig described Ashbridge Park as a "logical last resort."....The company responds to more than 600 calls annually, Chief Billy Gallagher said, making it the busiest in Lower Merion, and covers portions of Radnor, including Villanova University. It has only three full-time staffers and 35 volunteers.

"In addition to giving donations to local companies, [residents] are encouraged to support them by being patient through things like this," said Commissioner Lance Rogers, head of the fire committee.

The fire company first noticed "bubbles" forming on the epoxy floor and stains on the basement ceiling tiles two months ago, McGarvey said. The structure was rusted from water that seeped through when volunteers washed the trucks.

McGarvey said the construction was estimated to cost $180,000

Also related:

Emergency closure for Bryn Mawr firehouse
By Richard Ilgenfritz

BRYN MAWR - Due to recently discovered structural problems, the Bryn Mawr Fire Company must temporarily move from its century-old building in downtown Bryn Mawr to a new site in a Rosemont park, officials announced this week."Following the township engineer's inspection of the firehouse floor, it was determined that its condition presented a safety hazard," Charles McGarvey, chief fire officer for Lower Merion, said in a statement released Monday.

According to officials, the building must now undergo emergency repairs in order to ensure the safety of the firefighters.

Lower Merion Commissioner Lance Rogers, chairman of the township's Fire Committee, said the building isn't about to collapse. However, it is bad enough that officials determined that the repairs need to be made immediately.

"We're required to ensure that it's a safe building, and what we want for our firefighters is for them to be able to work in a safe environment," Rogers said

UPDATE:

Main Line Life: Tue, Jul 15, 2008
Towns answer the call for fire company
Bryn Mawr will move operations until structural problems to 1906 firehouse are fixed.
By Cheryl Allison