After the fire: American Axle donates former Colfor plant to Malvern-area Fire Department
MALVERN – Gratitude and appreciation have found their way to Ralph Castellucci and his crew of firefighters two years after a devastating blaze wiped out a local plant and hundreds of jobs.
The Great Trail Joint Fire District is receiving 5.3 acres of land from American Axle & Manufacturing, a Detroit-based manufacturer of automobile drive lines that operated the plant just outside Malvern.
Most of the former Colfor Manufacturing site in the 3200 block of Alliance Road NW (state Route 183) was destroyed in September 2020.
Great Trail Joint Fire District officials plan to convert what had been the plant shipping and receiving facility into a new fire department station.
More: Colfor workers return after fire, aim to get back in operation
"It would be a year or two before it would be move-in ready," Castellucci said. "We would have to hire an architect. We will be using our existing levy funds, and loans and grants. We are pretty grateful to AAM for the donation."
The property is located in Carroll County's Brown Township.
"There is plenty of room there for training," Brown Township Trustee John Dustman said. "It is a nice big facility that can accommodate a lot of people. It is still intact. It didn't get damaged by the fire. This is going to be a good thing for the community. When you can come up with something like that it can be a nice asset."
Fire Department currently in leased buildings
The plant was formerly known as Colfor Manufacturing.
Great Trail Fire Department operates now out of two locations: 120 Water St. and 235 Bridge St.
"We don't own either one of those stations," Castellucci said. "We lease those."
The plans also include developing what Castellucci describes as a community building.
"I am sure it will be under the Fire Department," the chief said.
Since the 2020 fire, Castellucci has been communicating with American Axle & Manufacturing officials to reduce any threats to safety at the site of the massive fire.
"The Great Trail Joint Fire District has been an incredible partner to AAM during and following this devastating fire," said Jason Lowe, an American Axle & Manufacturing plant manager in a statement. "We are so grateful for all of their support and are honored to donate the previous shipping facility and the land where it is located."
Colfor fire: Job loss in Malvern
Some in the community had other hopes for the site. At the time of the fire, AAM was the largest private employer in Carroll County.
"We were hoping for a business to go in there," Malvern Mayor Robert DeLong said. "That is what the village was hoping for. We supply water there. It is what it is. I would rather see anything go in there than see it sit dormant."
Some of the Colfor workforce was transferred to the corporation's Minerva division, according to Carroll County commissioners.
"I have no idea of the number who went over there," Commissioner Jeffrey Ohler said. "I know that some of them were able to save their jobs."
Castellucci does not have estimates of what it will cost to convert the former shipping and receiving building into a fire station.
"We just got the building," Castellucci said. "Those kind of items are preliminary at this moment. We will go forward with remodeling that into a fire station."
At the time of the fire, there was speculation the origin of the blaze was a hydraulic press, according to a Repository report at the time.
But with the donation to the Fire Department, "this will allow for repurposing of that footprint," said Carroll County Commissioner Robert Wirkner. "It is also good for the Fire Department. It is a better location for them. It will give them a much better location to do their operations."
Reach Malcolm at 330-596-0326 or malcolm.hall@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: mhallREP
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Great Trail Fire Department receives building through donation
