The Mars Volunteer Fire Company, below, and the Valencia Fire Company, above, will merge in 2007.

ADAMS TWP — The Mars Volunteer Fire Company and the Valencia Volunteer Fire Company will merge at the beginning of next year.

Both fire stations will continue to be open, and the two departments will be renamed the Adams Area Fire District, beginning on Jan. 1.

They serve Mars, Valencia and Seven Fields, and parts of Adams and Richland townships.With combined resources, the new department expects to save costs, provide better training programs and avoid buying duplicate pieces of equipment, said Russ Ford, chair of the Breakneck Valley Joint Fire Services Oversight Board.That five-member board was formed in 2004 to oversee the possible mergers of the Mars, Valencia and Callery departments, and it will lead the transition in this merger.The Callery department is not part of the merger.The merger was approved Aug. 9 by a vote by members of the Mars and Valencia departments. They will work with the oversight board for the next few months to decide what equipment to share, what new training must be done and who will be the chief of the department.

In a press release, Mars Fire Chief Jeremy Nickl and Valencia Fire Chief Bill Rooker said the merger is in response to the needs of the "growing community.""I believe the consolidation is the only way smaller fire departments will be able to survive in the near future," said Nickl.Frank Matis, the county emergency services director, agreed: "I know a lot of fire departments today are struggling with budgets and other resources. This sounds like a good move for these two departments."He said this is the first time he has heard of two departments becoming affiliated in the county.Nickl said there may be state grants next year available to fire departments that merged."There's potentially a lot of money for this," he said.He does not know what effects the merger will have on the fire departments' budgets, which come from fundraisers and the municipalities they serve."We're not 100 percent sure how that will change," Nickl said.

The merger has been discussed since 1995, but it became a serious option when the committee was formed."I think it's a great idea," said Mars Mayor Dick Settlemire. "That way there's no duplicate equipment, and we can save a little money."Settlemire also advocated merging police departments in southern Butler County. At least six municipalities are now part of a state study examining a regional police department.Settlemire said he felt there would be no loss of community identity because of the name change. "Our volunteer firefighters are very community-oriented. They risk their lives for this community. That will not change," he said."While we can't forget the past, the fire service must do what it takes to continue meeting the needs of our growing community," Rooker said.

Both fire stations will stay open, with the departments renamed the Adams Area Fire District.