Bryn Mawr Fire Company may get repairs

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 site where the fire company proposes to create temporary facilities is near a children's playground, Rosenzweig said. "They always operate at the highest level of safety, but now they have to operate at a super-cautious level," he said.

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 and would be covered by the township.

"Home is home," Gallagher said. "It's something that has to be done, and they think now is the best time, so we're just going to have to bite the bullet and live with it for a while."