Beginning on Monday April 26th, installation began on a new emergency generator for the Thorndale Fire Company. The previous generator failed back in September of 2009, which left the fire company without an emergency generator for several months. When the previous generator failed, a service technician was called to repair it, but informed the company that repairs would be extremely expensive since parts were not readily available.

This generator served the company for 15 years, as it was installed in the building when it was built back in 1992. It was a 7.5KW Onan generator that powered select lighting throughout the building and full electric to the radio room, which is used as an emergency command center for large scale emergencies in Caln Township. Due to the age of the previous generator, the high expected repair cost, and the need for additional generating capacity, the company decided not to repair the generator and to investigate the purchase of a new one.

The project was funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency in the amount of $11,968.95 along with assistance from Caln Township to cover the $25,000.00 project cost. Bids were obtained from three vendors and the contract was awarded to Greg A Vietri Inc. Electrical Contractors for the removal of the old generator and installation of the new one. The order was placed and after several weeks of waiting it arrived to be installed on Wednesday April 28th.

The new generator is an Onan 20 KW genset with a Cummins Power Command 1300 series system. The new system enables operation of all six garage doors, select lighting throughout the building, full electric in the radio room, as well as full electric to the training room. In times of storms with widespread power outages, it is critical for emergency operations to continue. In the event of a power outage, the emergency generator starts and transfers power to the items noted above allowing emergency services to operate seamlessly.

Special thanks to Caln Township for helping to fund this project and for their continued assistance to the Thorndale Fire Company.