Seven Fields Borough officials are using good judgment in considering that a proposed fire substation be a dual facility to house borough public works equipment.

Equipment such as trucks and backhoes currently are kept outside year-round. Presumably, storing such equipment indoors would help extend the life of the equipment.

The borough council might vote Monday on whether to allocate $150,000 for the building.

In addition to protecting the borough equipment stored indoors, the building would provide the more important benefit of having a fire vehicle on site, rather than all Adams Fire District equipment having to travel on busy Route 228 when responding to a Seven Fields emergency.

It is believed that having a firefighting vehicle in Seven Fields, instead of all equipment having to come from Mars, would cut the response time for fire calls to less than half.

"Seven Fields has expressed for many years now that we believe it's time for a fire station or substation in our area," said Borough Manager Tom Smith. "As far as the substation, our goal, first and foremost, is public safety. The residential and commercial growth over the last 10 to 15 years in the area definitely necessitates such a facility."

The building would remain a valuable asset, even if the borough were to someday negotiate a fire-protection contract with an entity other than the Adams Fire District, since the building would continue to be home to borough equipment.

Having a fire vehicle stationed in Seven Fields also would benefit the fire district in general, enabling quicker response to western parts of the district outside of Seven Fields.

Thus, the substation would be a win-win on a number of fronts, not just from the perspective of Seven Fields.

Russ Ford, a member of the fire district's board of directors, also made the good point that a Seven Fields substation might be an incentive for additional people to become involved with that fire service.

Seven Fields officials merit praise for the work they've done in recent years to ensure that the small borough keeps up with the changes happening around it. The building under consideration is part of that commitment to progress and better service to the community.

Borough residents should support the council's and fire district's efforts to take this step forward.