Penn Township IN Fire Department, School District Team up for New Station Firefighters

MISHAWAKA, IN—The Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. and Penn Township Fire Department are teaming up to build a new fire station two blocks from Penn High School.

A lease agreement between the district and the township was proposed to the school board Monday night.

Currently, the school corporation owns 26 acres northwest of the intersection of McKinley Highway and Bittersweet Road, where the new station 13 would be constructed. The station will be located at 12661 McKinley Highway.

The district would lease 3 acres to the township for $1 per month as part of a 50-year lease. The land, designated exclusively for the fire station, will still be owned by the school corporation.

Fire department officials reached out to the corporation about a year ago with the idea to build a station near the school.

“This is a wonderful opportunity of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. to build on its existing collaborative relationship with Penn Township and its fire department,” Superintendent Jerry Thacker said of the proposed partnership. “This new fire station will provide emergency and fire services to approximately 5,000 P-H-M students, staff members and patrons on the campus each and every day.”

Penn Township Fire Chief John VanBruaene said the station will replace the existing Station 13 located on McKinley Highway between Currant Road and Capital Avenue. He said the new location will be in the center of the district, allowing the department to cut response times for emergency and fire services.

VanBruaene told the school board that the current station is “to the point where it’s not livable anymore,” and that the department “had to move on and build a new station.”

“The station was built in 1954 when the department was volunteer and it’s been remodeled 12 times. To give some perspective, we have men and women firefighters now in service, and we don’t have one shower in that facility,” VanBruaene said. “It’s very run-down and not manageable anymore.”

The new location will be a single-story, four-bay fire station, housing a medic unit, engine company and reserve fire apparatus. A training facility will also be built at the location.

The fire chief said five first responders will be at the station at all times.

“This will be a full-service fire station. Seven years ago Penn Township Fire Department became a full-time department and are very proud of that. You will have 24/7 operations at this facility right down the street,” VanBruaene told the board, adding that the department is working with county officials to secure control of the lights along the intersection to alert drivers when firefighters respond to a call.

VanBruaene told The Tribune that a total cost for the new stations has not be determined yet, but the department is hopeful that the Penn Township trustee and advisory board will approve a $4.1 million bond to cover the costs. The next Penn Township advisory board meeting is Oct. 7.

The Tribune was not able to immediately reach Penn Township trustee Doris Portolese for comment Tuesday.

The construction project is being managed by CORE Construction of South Bend with Epoch Architecture + Planning, also of South Bend, handling the architecture.

The goal is for construction to start in the early spring, said Jeff Johnson, P-H-M board attorney.

VanBruaene said the fire department will remain active at the current station 13 until the new station is ready to move into. He said officials are not sure what will happen in the future to the existing fire station building, but the township is hoping to sell it.

“Safety for students has and continues to be our number one priority,” said school board President Chris Riley. “The board is absolutely delighted to have emergency personnel this close to just under half of our student population.”

The P-H-M school board will meet and vote on the lease agreement during its next meeting Oct. 14.

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