Falls Supervisors OK Agreement for Fire Department Expansion

Falls Township Fire Co. No. 1 moved a step closer to a firehouse expansion Monday night.

During the Supervisors’ meeting, the board approved a cooperation agreement between the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County and Falls Township Fire Co. No. 1 to undertake an expansion project to make room for new apparatus.

The upgrades will be funded by a $1 million grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

Township attorney Mike Clarke said the agreement is necessary when an entity receives grant funding because “there needs to be a local sponsor.”

“There is no risk to the township,” Clarke said. “There’s no cost to the township.”

The Falls Supervisors last year granted land development approval to permit the Fallsington-based fire company, which is located on a 1.54-acre parcel on Yardley Avenue, to construct a 2,700-square-foot addition. The extra space would be used to house additional equipment that the fire company plans to purchase in the next several years, according to Brian Binney of the engineering firm, Pennoni.

The extra space would be comprised of a front-facing bay that would house a full-size fire truck, as well as a bay on the side for a pickup truck, Binney said. Plans also call for a gear room for the storage of equipment and the reconfiguration of bathrooms and sleeping quarters to enable more volunteer firefighters to stay at the firehouse overnight and occupy the station on off hours.

The fire company received several variances last year from the zoning hearing board to permit construction of the addition as planned.