Brevort Township firefighters will likely move out of this old fire hall in the Brevort Township Community Center at 4020 North Church Street in Moran into the new hall across the street, supervisor Ed Serwach said. This building was once the Moran school. The new fire hall Brevort Township commissioners have been saving toward for more than 20 years is nearing completion, and Fire Chief Mark Peterson is eager to see it finished.

"I'm happy. I'm excited. I'm ready to move in," he said.

The new fire hall is across the street from the Brevort Township Community Center, at 4020 North Church Street in Moran. The new fire hall still needs electrical, plumbing, and furnace work finished, along with weather-stripping on the three overhead fire doors. The plumbing is about 90% complete, said Brevort Township Supervisor Ed Serwach.

The overhead doors measure 14- feet square, facilitating larger fire vehicles. The building contains a bathroom with shower facilities, a meeting room with air conditioning and heat, a mechanical room, and a balcony to store equipment. A portion of the balcony railing is removable to make loading easier.

Brevort Township Supervisor Ed Serwach (left) and fire chief Mark Peterson stand in front of the new township fire hall in Moran Wednesday, October 14. The new fire hall is much larger than the old one in the Brevort Township Community Center, and has larger doors to facilitate bigger fire trucks. Two propane furnaces are installed and three large fans are attached to the ceiling to cool the building. The 60-foot-by-60-foot building can contain four fire trucks. Whiskey River is constructing the facility; work began in July, Mr. Serwach said.

Brevort Township was originally saving for a new fire truck until conditions in the old fire hall, which attached to the community center, necessitated a new one, Mr. Serwach said.

The new Brevort Township fire hall is equipped with three large overhead doors to better accommodate fire trucks more easily than the old hall. The furnace in the old fire hall is worn out, forcing the firefighters to open the door to the community center to draw heat from it. The fire hall is constantly damp, Mr. Peterson said, and during a strong rain water flows underneath the doors and into the hall. With no drains, the firefighters mop up the mess.

The old hall is fairly small, Mr. Peterson said, with 10-feet square doors. If a larger fire truck was purchased by the township, it is possible it would not fit inside. The township currently has four trucks, stored at the old hall, a converted school building.

Environmental conditions in the old fire hall would gradually wear any new fire equipment down, Mr. Serwach said, making a new fire hall prudent. The project had been proposed three times over the years, and previous designs estimated to cost nearly $1 million were turned down by voters when the township board decided to spend $298,000 to start building the hall last October.

The balcony of the new Brevort Township fire hall will be used for equipment storage, supervisor Ed Serwach said. A portion of the railing is detachable to make loading items on the balcony easier. "We're trying to build for the future. The township is growing," Mr. Peterson said.

An open house at the new fire hall will be Saturday, November 7, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Guests are invited to a fireworks show afterward at 7 p.m. at 1820 West Dukes Road in Moran, provided by the families of Pete Peters and George Litzner. A silent auction will also take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with proceeds benefitting the Brevort Township Fire Department.