HARMONY — The merging of the Zelienople and Harmony volunteer fire departments could be finalized by this summer.

Scott Garing, who is the assistant fire chief for Zelienople Volunteer Fire Department and also the public information officer for the merging departments, said paperwork is awaiting state approval. Once that is obtained, the new fire district will begin operations.

“The contracts have been submitted, and right now we’re just waiting to hear from the (state),” Garing said. “Once that’s done, it’s done.”

In the meantime the committee overseeing the merger is discussing logistics, including the need to form a new board of directors and to appoint fire officers, the handling of finances and even what equipment to keep and what to sell.

Garing said three subcommittees have been formed with fire officials from both departments. The groups — about 30 members in total — are focusing on bylaws, finance and planning, and standard operating guidelines.

The joint subcommittees help in more ways than one.

“Most importantly, it gives other people a chance for their voices to be heard,” Garing said. “Also, it helps to distribute the workload a little bit. No one is getting paid a dime here, so it’s good to split the work.”

In February, the fire departments’ boards voted to merge the two companies. Officials at the time cited the usefulness of consolidating and combining resources, which ultimately will establish the Harmony Fire District with about 70 active members and a half-dozen vehicles.

However, Garing said six fire engines are too many to serve the district, which will include both boroughs as well as Lancaster and Jackson townships.

“We’re definitely talking of getting rid of a few engines and consolidating what we have,” Garing said.

Although officials from the new fire district hope to eventually move to a new location, the merged departments initially will be housed at Harmony’s station on Main Street in the borough. A substation on Route 19 in Lancaster Township is expected to be kept open.

With the Harmony department in essence absorbing Zelienople’s, the district will retain its 501c3 nonprofit status.

The merger of the Zelienople and Harmony fire departments isn’t the first to occur in Butler County.

In 2014, three volunteer companies merged to become the Butler Township Fire District 3. In 2007, the Valencia and Mars volunteer fire departments merged to become the Adams Area Fire District.