A new building is in the works for the Jeannette Fire Department Relief Association.

Officials hope to be in it sometime next year at the association’s current location on Clay Avenue, said president Bob Carter. The current building, which previously housed a service station, is in disrepair and is slated for demolition.

“It’ll give us more access to provide services in addition with the fire station at the top of the hill,” Carter said.

The relief association supports the city’s on-call firefighters in the department through insurance, death benefits and other needs, such as equipment. The city employs three paid firefighters and on-call firefighters receive a small amount of compensation.

Fire Chief Bill Frye said the current building is not usable and trucks that don’t fit into the city’s station on South Second Street are being stored elsewhere in town.

“We put Band-Aids on it for the last couple decades,” he said.

The new prefabricated building will have three bays for fire trucks, meeting space and an indoor training facility. Frye said the project is expected to cost between $150,000 and $200,000. Firefighters will be able to stay there, Carter said.

The association is funded through money collected by the state as a tax on fire insurance premiums. The association got $80,000 in state aid in 2015 and 2016, according to a 2017 audit.

Expenditures during that time, totaling $53,000, ranged from insurance premiums and equipment purchases to training costs and property maintenance.

The association had $194,000 in cash and investments as of Dec. 31, 2016. The relief association bought the property in 1986, according to county records.

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