As released by the Office of the Mayor:

April 3, 2014.

MAYOR PAPENFUSE AND ACTING FIRE CHIEF ENTERLINE ANNOUNCE CLOSURE OF FIRE STATION 6

HARRISBURG – Mayor Eric Papenfuse and Acting Fire Chief Brian Enterline will announce the closing of Fire Station 6 at 336 South 2nd St. at a press conference at 1 p.m. Friday in the Atrium of the MLK Government Center in a move to streamline Fire Department operations without compromising public safety.

“After careful deliberation, Acting Chief Enterline and I have concluded that closing Fire Station 6 will help the city meet its budgetary responsibilities without risking public safety,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse.

The announcement comes as the city welcomes 13 new fire recruits who will significantly strengthen the manpower of the Fire Department. The recruits are undergoing 14 weeks of training at Harrisburg Area Community College to prepare them for the rigors of fire-fighting.

Acting Chief Enterline said closure of the station will not involve layoffs, but will help consolidate resources to improve efficiencies in the Fire Department. Three active fire stations with a total of 5 pieces of fire apparatus will be in active service at all times, he said.

Apparatus from Station 6 (Tower 3) will be put in reserve status, Enterline said, and water rescue assets will be moved to Station 2 and City Island.

“Manpower will be distributed to other apparatus to bring us into better compliance with NFPA 1710, which mandates 4 firefighters per apparatus,” Enterline said.

The acting fire chief said he researched the potential impact of the closure on fire insurance rates, which confirmed that there would be no risk to public safety.

“The ISO rating, which insurance companies use to determine fire insurance rates, will remain strong as a Class 3 municipality,” Enterline said.

Fire Station 2 will serve the State Capital complex, downtown businesses and residences via the State Street Bridge and Market Street, Enterline said. The Mount Pleasant Station also will continue to serve the downtown district.

Fire Station 6, the oldest active fire station, is located in the flood plain and is in need of major repairs, Enterline said. It has been shuttered several times in the last 30 years, he said.

“We studied maps of response times from Station 6 and call volumes from the station,” Enterline said, “and we came to the conclusion that it could be closed without serious issues for fire safety.”

“We will not ‘brown out’ Station 6,” Enterline said, “but we are closing it permanently.”

Photo/Natalie Cake