PA Fire Station to Close as Volunteer Departments Merge

The Luxor Volunteer Fire Department station in Hempfield will close this weekend as officials merge with nearby Bovard Fire Department.

Hempfield Fire Chief Tony Kovacic confirmed during Wednesday's supervisors meeting that the station "will stop responding" to calls starting Saturday. Those calls will be covered by the Bovard and Hannastown departments.

"We'll never miss a beat," Kovacic told township supervisors this week. "It won't be a situation where it's a dead space out there."

Officials with the Luxor station first expressed their desire to merge with Bovard in January, attributing the decision to a lack of man power, with only three members on its force. At the time, officials said fire equipment would be split between the stations in Bovard and Hannastown.

Since then, township officials have been working to assign fire engines to their new stations and working with emergency dispatchers to ensure proper equipment is sent to a scene. The property the station is located on, which is split into two parcels, has also been sold, according to the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds.

One parcel, housing the social hall, sold in September for $15,000, records show. The second parcel, which houses the fire station, sold in February for $25,000.

Luxor firefighters last year responded to 42 calls for service, Kovacic in January told the Tribune-Review. Those calls, which ranged from fires to ambulance assists or downed wires, also were responded to by Bovard, which is about 2 miles away, and Hannastown, about 3 miles away.

Luxor assisted other area departments 166 times last year, according to Kovacic.

Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, [email protected] or via Twitter .

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