The Mount Carbon-North Manheim Township Fire Company No. 1 wants to rebuild its fire house in the borough and a second one with a helipad near the Hoss's Steak & Sea House in the township.
The fire house at 120 Main St. in Mount Carbon burned to the ground in an Oct. 4 fire that started in a nearby vacant home. According to Republican-Herald archives, police are still investigating the fire. A call to the state police at Schuylkill Haven was not returned Thursday. The company had been at the Main Street site since 1968.
"We are going to rebuild in Mount Carbon at the same site at the fire Oct. 4," company President Larry Moore said Wednesday.
Insurance money from the fire will be used to pay costs of construction, Moore said.
The Mount Carbon borough council has not given final approval for the plans to rebuild the fire company.
"We (the borough council) were made aware of the two-station proposal a couple months ago," Mayor Jeffrey J. Dunkel said Wednesday.
Moore said the township location is centrally located, which makes it a good site.
"We'd like to put the shovel in the ground by May or June of this year," he said of the township site.
He confirmed the fire company wants to build a helipad at the township location. People have been asking for one, he said, and it could also bring in revenue for the fire company.
"We're going to be planning to work on both at the same time," Moore said.
The North Manheim Township Zoning Hearing Board will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the township municipal building, 303 Manheim Road, for the variance requested by the fire company to build the fire company and the a landing site on an 8.384-acre area.
The zoning hearing board has 45 days from the last date of the hearing to render a decision, according to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
A variance is needed because the use is "not allowed in the C-2 zoning district," Tami Stump, administrative assistant for the township, said Wednesday.
A C-2 district is general commercial. Neither use is allowed in that district per the township zoning ordinance.
The township received the application for the variance Feb. 28. In it, the fire company states the variance should be granted because "the fire company owns this property, and it is ideally located near the intersection of two major routes in the township (routes 61 and 183), making it quicker to respond to emergencies."
A diagram of the plans for the site show the proposed square foot of the building as 3,550. There are 15 parking spaces along with a helipad away from the building.
The fire company will connect to public water and sewer.
Permits are required for any construction. The township planning commission was expected to review the application Thursday. Township supervisors must also approve plans for the building and helipad.
Fire company personnel, Jeff Butz of Miller Brothers Construction, Schuylkill Haven, and Chuck Brewer, aviation safety specialist with the state Department of Transportation Bureau of Aviation, met Thursday at the site.
"I think you got a wonderful place there. It's a good location out there. It looks pretty flat," Brewer said.
He would later measure the heights of any possible obstructions while there.
Brewer will send the fire company a letter and instructions with further information within two weeks. Another investigation will later be conducted and a permit issued if guidelines are met.
Approval from the Federal Aviation Administration is also needed for the helipad, which includes any lighting and a wind indicator and the landing site.
Butz said the proposed building in the township is to be 19 feet tall and 50 by 70 feet. The distance from the landing area to the building will be about 300 feet. The heliport is 70 feet by 70 feet.
Though the fire company has yet to rebuild in the borough, efforts are underway to get rid of the debris from the fire.
Dunkel said the borough is working to acquire 116 and 118 Main St., buildings also damaged in the fire.
"There's potential agreements with both property owners currently," Dunkel said Wednesday.
If acquired by the borough, it will apply for a grant from the county to demolish the properties, with the borough being responsible for 25 percent of the cost, he said.
Those properties could be used for a borough building and possibly playground or other uses, he said, adding one could be sold or leased perhaps to the fire company.
The current playground is maintained by the fire company but is on a spot where the fire company wants to build, Dunkel said.
Moore confirmed that. He said the fire company owns the land but is required to maintain it. Possibly the playground could be moved to another location, both said.