Stony Hill Station ready to open
By Pam Lifke
COPLEY — Nearly 15 years ago, Bath and Copley townships created a statewide model for cooperation when they began joint operation of a fire station in Montrose in 1992.
The building — barely large enough for a fire engine and ambulance — was built by Copley in 1986 and meant to last five years. Almost 20 years later, it finally will be replaced when a new symbol of cooperation between the townships, Stony Hill Station (a replacement for fire Station No. 2) is dedicated tomorrow, June 2, at 4 p.m. The public is welcome to attend and get a preview of the new station. The new fire station, located on Medina Road at Scenicview Drive, is 10,000 square feet — nearly three times as large as its predecessor. Initially, it will house a fire truck and an ambulance and will be staffed around the clock seven days a week by two contracted firefighter/ medics, just like the present Station No. 2, said Copley Fire Chief Todd Chambers. Eventually, Chambers said, it is likely the new station also will house a heavy rescue or ladder truck and four around-the-clock firefighter/medics.
Stony Hill Station has a complete sprinkler system and an exhaust system to clear the building of diesel fumes — two important safety features not found in the old facility, Chambers said. Telephone and computer systems at the new station are fully integrated with both townships for easier and better communication, he added.
Plans for a new station began several
years ago as a gleam in the eyes of former Copley Fire
Chief Joseph Ezzie and former Bath Fire Chief Gordon
Hartschuh. An increase in the number of commercial buildings
and housing developments in the area served by Station
No. 2 made it clear that
the need would soon outstrip the station’s capability.
The former chiefs settled on the location more than
two years ago, before their retirements, said Bath Administrator
William Snow, point man for the project. The property
was purchased for $410,000, and construction began in
2005 on the $2.3 million building, he said. The costs
were split equally between the two townships.
The project was funded without
a bond issue from either community, according to Snow.
“I think that shows fiscal
responsibility on both sides of the street,” he
added.
Snow said he expects the new station
to have a lifespan of 50 years or more. Command for
the new station is shared by Chambers and Bath Fire
Chief Jim Paulett.
Trustees of both townships agreed
on the name Stony Hill Station in honor of the Stony
Hill Fire Protective Association, a volunteer fire department
founded in 1937 to protect farms in the area. The original
Stony Hill station was located along Medina Road west
of Hametown Road and served surrounding communities,
including Bath. The department had a mutual
aid agreement with Copley, which
had its own fire department. The department’s
original fire engine was a Model A Ford modified by
Paul Spitzer Sr. and his son Paul Spitzer Jr. to carry
a pump, a hose and three oil drums for water. By the
time the Stony Hill Fire Protective Association disbanded
in 1966, its members had assembled five fire engines,
including a Seagrave fire engine with 500 feet of hose
and a 350-gallon tank.
The building for old Station No.
2 is owned by Copley and sits on property owned jointly
by the two townships. Although no decision has been
made, the building likely will find new use as a storage
building, according to Copley Trustee Helen Humphrys.
The new Bath/Copley fire station, which will be called Stony Hill Station, will open to the public June 2. Photo: Ken Crisafi
|
