The former South Butler Volunteer Fire Department building at the intersection of Old Plank and Litman roads in Butler Township has been sold for $350,000 to a local company named AERCO.

The former South Butler Volunteer Fire Department building at the intersection of Old Plank and Litman roads in Butler Township has been sold.

The transaction occurred on June 9, according to courthouse records, when the building and land were transferred from the South Butler Township Firemen & Relief Association to a local company named AERCO for $325,000.

Details on the buyer's business were not available.

Kevin Smith, fire chief at Butler Township Volunteer Fire District, said the station was no longer needed after the fire district merged many of the separate fire departments in the township into one fire services provider.

The fire district is now the sole provider of fire services in Butler Township, he said.

Smith said he thinks the South Butler Volunteer Fire Department was in the Old Plank Road building for 80 years.

The basement of the old fire hall housed businesses in the past, including the Firedown bar and restaurant in the 1960s and 1970s and the Ribit nightclub in the 1980s.

Smith said the fire district has begun a program in which a handful of firefighters are on duty at the Meridian fire station on Sparks Avenue or the Lyndora station on Whitestown Road for five-hour shifts.Also, the fire district added Butler and the Veterans Administration fire departments — which are staffed 24 hours — to calls in the township so incidents can be responded to promptly, Smith said.He said residents and business owners once covered by the South Butler Volunteer Fire Department need not worry about response times, as having firefighters on station instead of waiting for initial responders to arrive at the fire station after a call decreases the time it takes for fire trucks to arrive.“It seems like a longer distance, but with the numbers, we are getting on scene faster than we ever have in the past,” Smith said.He said the South Butler building housed three fire trucks, all of which were sold.“The sale of equipment has gone to updating our firefighting fleet,” Smith said. “Monies from the sale of buildings or property have been put into an account for future building projects to give the residents of Butler Township fire protection.”The fire district has responded to 326 emergencies so far this year, plus multiple trainings.The district has 38 volunteer firefighters who respond to fires and other emergencies, as well as 30 members who assist in administration, maintenance and fundraising, Smith said.

The South Butler Volunteer Fire Company received a new emergency vehicle in 2004. From left are Mike Schmidt, fire department vice president; Brian Mazzanti, fire chief; Marylou Davis, women's auxiliary president; Joan Fend, auxiliary vice president; and representing the Butler Township Water and Sewage Authority are Richard Dumbaugh Sr., Ernie Oeserling, John Mall and Archie Mann. The fire station on Old Plank Road was sold in June as part of the Butler Township Volunteer Fire Department merger.