Evening Sun: Two former fire stations up for sale
By SETH GOLDSTEIN
Evening Sun Reporter
Two of the four fire stations that merged last year to form the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services, otherwise known as SAVES, have closed and are up for sale.
The newly formed department is hoping the two stations, Conewago and Centennial, are sold within six months.
Wayne Reid, president of SAVES, said the closing of the stations is part of the strategic plan the company drafted during its first year of service. Residents served by SAVES won't see any decrease in service, Reid said.
"All the stations are within a two-mile radius of each other. By consolidating, our hope is to make management of (the overall company) more efficient," Reid said.
Both Conewago and Centennial are now up for sale and the hope is to have the stations sold by June, he said. SAVES has also sold four vehicles and is selling a fifth.
SAVES Chief Andy Weaver said the company, after merging at midnight Jan. 1, 2005, found there wasn't a need for a number of the vehicles the company owned.
The company has also bought two new units - a truck for brush fires and a service unit, Reid said.
Reid said by 2008, the goal is to bring SAVES under one roof.
"We're currently looking into purchasing land to build a station to house SAVES in its entirety," he said. As of right now they are still searching for the perfect piece of property.
When that station is built, SAVES will close both the Brushtown and McSherrystown stations, Reid said.
Both of those stations are being kept for now because they are centrally located in SAVES coverage area and have better facilities for social events, he said.
Weaver said having one building will improve response time.
With fewer stations, response time will improve because the volunteer firefighters all will be heading to a central location, he said.
Both Weaver and Reid said the new company's first year was tough, but the end result was a good one.
"We were originally worried about how the residents would react to the merging," Reid said. "But everyone took to SAVES and everything came out great."
Contact Seth Goldstein at sgoldstein@eveningsun.com.
Evening Sun Reporter
Two of the four fire stations that merged last year to form the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services, otherwise known as SAVES, have closed and are up for sale.
The newly formed department is hoping the two stations, Conewago and Centennial, are sold within six months.
Wayne Reid, president of SAVES, said the closing of the stations is part of the strategic plan the company drafted during its first year of service. Residents served by SAVES won't see any decrease in service, Reid said.
"All the stations are within a two-mile radius of each other. By consolidating, our hope is to make management of (the overall company) more efficient," Reid said.
Both Conewago and Centennial are now up for sale and the hope is to have the stations sold by June, he said. SAVES has also sold four vehicles and is selling a fifth.
SAVES Chief Andy Weaver said the company, after merging at midnight Jan. 1, 2005, found there wasn't a need for a number of the vehicles the company owned.
The company has also bought two new units - a truck for brush fires and a service unit, Reid said.
Reid said by 2008, the goal is to bring SAVES under one roof.
"We're currently looking into purchasing land to build a station to house SAVES in its entirety," he said. As of right now they are still searching for the perfect piece of property.
When that station is built, SAVES will close both the Brushtown and McSherrystown stations, Reid said.
Both of those stations are being kept for now because they are centrally located in SAVES coverage area and have better facilities for social events, he said.
Weaver said having one building will improve response time.
With fewer stations, response time will improve because the volunteer firefighters all will be heading to a central location, he said.
Both Weaver and Reid said the new company's first year was tough, but the end result was a good one.
"We were originally worried about how the residents would react to the merging," Reid said. "But everyone took to SAVES and everything came out great."
Contact Seth Goldstein at sgoldstein@eveningsun.com.
