Plum firefighters expecting to use old borough building for training before demolition

Plum’s old borough building will serve one last purpose for the community before it’s torn down.

Council is expected to vote Monday on allowing volunteer firefighters with the borough’s four departments to use the New Texas Road building for training.

Council appears receptive to the idea. When Holiday Park Fire Chief James Sims recently asked for two dates to use the building, council President Paul Dern suggested they plan for more, rather than trying to do everything in two nights.

“If you can give us some dates, put a couple extra in, and then we can schedule the demolition after that,” Dern told Sims at a council workshop Monday. “This is something that should be done. I strongly support that.”

Dates for firefighter training have not been set, though Sims said it would be soon.

The sessions will give a chance for the roughly 100 volunteer members of all four departments — Holiday Park, Logans Ferry, Renton and Unity — to train together, Sims said. Holiday Park and Unity also will be able to practice using new breathing gear they recently acquired.

The training could include breaching walls, forcing doors, stretching hose down long halls, and searching rooms and halls, he said.

“There are a lot of interior skills that we could do,” he said.

No fires, use of water planned

The training will not include setting any fires, breaking windows or releasing water, Sims said. Smoke machines might be used.

Firefighters had hoped to use part of Presque Isle Plaza on Golden Mile Highway for training, but it was torn down to make way for a new Sheetz before they could get a plan together, Sims said.

“It’s very hard to find and acquire a structure sound enough and safe enough,” he said. “We don’t want to lose the opportunity to use the building.”

While Plum’s firefighters are able to do such training at facilities outside of Plum, Sims said this gives them the opportunity to stay in the borough and be able to respond to calls should they occur.

Plum has moved all of its administrative functions, including the borough’s police department, to its new municipal center on Old Mine Road.

The borough will begin seeking contract bids for the demolition of the old building this month, Borough Manager David Soboslay said. Council could award a contract May 13 , with the demolition starting in June.

The borough plans to retain ownership of the property and is still looking for a developer to work with, Soboslay said. A potential use — such as commercial or residential — has not been determined.

The borough owns three separate parcels in the area. In addition to the roughly 8.2-acre parcel where the building sits, it owns the vacant 1.5-acre lot at the corner of New Texas and Leechburg roads. The third borough lot is a long, narrow strip on the other side of the main parcel that’s about 2.8 acres, according to county real estate records.

The borough plans to consolidate the three parcels into one, Soboslay said.

The Plum Borough Municipal Authority owns its own property and building adjacent to the former borough building. There has been consideration of the authority moving to a new building that would be built near the borough’s new municipal center.