EAST WHITELAND — After nearly seven years of planning and fundraising, the Friends of East Whiteland Fire and Ambulance and East Whiteland Township Volunteer Fire Association broke ground on their new fire station Friday morning.

“There has been a lot of time and a lot of effort put into this,” said Gary Sheridan, president of the fire association.

The firehouse will be built on township-owned property along the southwest corner of Mill Lane and Route 401.

Local officials, residents and members of the fire association gathered at the ceremony on Friday. The firehouse will cost $5 million to build, and so far has received nearly $1.5 million in pledges from local corporations and residents.

Robert Fenza, chairman of the committee of the Friends of East Whiteland Fire and Ambulance, said that the group had received 272 residential donations and about 30 business pledges. Local contractors are also pledging both money and resources for the project.

The 18,000-square-foot building will be LEED Silver Certified, said Fenza. It will have features to make it more eco-friendly, such as a way to collect rainwater for washing fire trucks.

The need for the new firehouse is great, said Sheridan. The current firehouse on Planebrook Road was built in 1958 when the fire association responded to an average of 40 calls a year. Currently, the association responds to more than 1,600 calls a year.

The old building also doesn’t meet current codes and requires some of the equipment to be stored outside, added Sheridan.

“The current building is very much antiquated,” he said.

Township officials were there for the ground breaking, saying they were excited that the long-anticipated project was beginning to become a reality.

“This is a great moment for East Whiteland,” said Virginia McMichael, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors. “It has been a vision for years and the entire community will benefit from this. I’m very excited for the township.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, R-6th of West Pikeland, state Rep. Duane Milne, R-167th of Willistown, and a representative from state Sen. Andrew Dinniman’s, D-19th of West Whiteland, office were also at the ceremony. Milne and Dinniman presented the fire association with state flags, while Gerlach gave a U.S. Flag for the new firehouse. Milne also read a proclamation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Fenza said that they hope the building will be completed by the fall of 2014.

(Original article can be found at: http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20131123/e-whiteland-starts-firehouse-construction)