CENTRE HALL — The Centre Hall Fire Company will hold a public open house at its new fire station from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The new 14,000-square-foot facility is located along Witmer Avenue on the east end of the borough.
The station features eight equipment bays, a large meeting room, a fully equipped kitchen and a firemen’s lounge, all in a single-story building.
The open house will begin with a flag ceremony at 9 a.m. The guest speaker will be state Rep. Kerry Benninghoff of the 171st district. The public will be able to tour the new facility all day and firefighters will be on hand to answer any questions. Rides for young children from Garbrick Amusements will be on site and refreshments will be available.
According to Fire Chief Harry Hockenberry, the new station is the result of nearly 11 years of planning and fundraising. Hockenberry noted that all the funds for construction came from fundraisers held by the fire company and from a fire tax levied on Centre Hall Borough and Potter Township residents. There were no government grants assisting in funding, he said.
The company officially moved into the new station at the end of May.
The existing fire hall on North Pennsylvania Avenue (route 144) was built in 1952 and served the needs of the company well in that time. An addition was added to the rear of the building some years later to house more equipment, but the fire company has outgrown the structure. That building has been sold to Centre Hall Borough.
This story appears in the June 17-23 edition of The Centre County Gazette.
