BUTLER TWP — The noon hour today brings a historic change to the township.

Three of the township's five fire departments will unite in answering to one tone and one chief.

It's the biggest step to date in the swiftly moving merger of Meridian, Lyndora and Greenwood Village volunteer departments.

The first chief at the newly created Butler Township Fire District No. 3 is Toby Wehr.

“This is an honor. It's humbling. And it's going to be challenging,” said Wehr, who has been Meridian's chief for more than a decade.

In one of their last acts as individual fire departments, members on Monday approved a list of line officers that had been proposed by a committee.

None of the new line officers believe the transition will be without hurdles.

Merging three big entities into one, they say, is a monumental task. But so far “there haven't been too many hiccups along the way,” said Joe Hanchosky, who will be the new first assistant chief, after having served more than two decades as chief at Greenwood Village. “Things are just going really well.”

One of the reasons for the smooth transition, the men say, is there has been good communication between township officials as well as the chiefs of the three former departments: Wehr, Hanchosky and Dexter Keibler, who was chief at Lyndora and now becomes first captain of the new department. Steve Huey becomes second assistant chief.

“They are all leaving their egos at the door and doing what is absolutely correct for the township,” said township manager Ed Kirkwood, who described himself as “ecstatic” about the merger.

“Everything is new to us,” Wehr said. “Our challenge now will be keeping the members interested and drawing others in.”

The three departments have a combined roster of about 85 active members. For many of the members, including the top line officers, fire fighting has long been a part of their lives.

“We were here as kids even before we were members,” said Huey, now a 39-year-old coordinator at the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Butler Memorial Hospital.

“This was our childhood,” said Wehr, 41, who is a manager at a company that specializes in industrial safety.

Both Wehr and Huey followed the footsteps of family members in the fire department.

In 1986, Wehr joined the Meridian Fire Department, where his parents, Ken and Cheryll Wehr, already were members. Wehr remained a member of the department even while stationed elsewhere as part of his career in the United States Air Force from 1990 to 1994.

After returning home, Wehr became a lieutenant in the department in 1996 and a first lieutenant in 1999. He became assistant chief in 2000, and he's been chief at Meridian since 2009.

Huey followed the footsteps of his father, James Huey, and joined Meridian when he was just 14.

In 1992, Huey became the recording secretary. A year later he became the lieutenant. He became chief in 1996 and served for 13 years. In 2009, he became a captain. And in 2012, he became assistant chief.

Hanchosky, now 50, admits fire fighting fulfilled a childhood passion.

“I was always into the lights and sirens,” he said. “I grew up on Whitestown Road, and I would always run to the end of the road to watch when one of the engines drove by.”

He joined Greenwood Village in 1981 when he turned 18. In 1983, Hanchosky became a lieutenant and two years later he became a captain. In 1987, he became an assistant chief. He's been chief at Greenwood Village since 1990.

“I stay involved because I have a desire to help save people's lives and property,” said Hanchosky, whose day job is an assistant and substitute teacher in the protective services at Butler Vocational-Technical School.

Keibler issues similar sentiments, noting, “Once it's in your blood, it's pretty much your whole life.”

Keibler, 38, who works at AK Steel, joined Greenwood Village in 1992 as a 17-year-old junior firefighter. A family friend was a member and “it seemed really interesting.”

He became a lieutenant in 1994, a captain in 1996 and assistant chief in 1998. In 2001, he joined Lyndora as a captain. A year later he became assistant chief. He became chief in 2008 and has held that rank since then, except in 2011 when he took a hiatus.

“Over the years we developed a great bond of friendship and camaraderie,” Huey said. “No doubt there are challenges ahead in this merger. But we will make it. There's no doubt in my mind that this will work.”

Dave Zarnick, township commissioner, said officials are proud of the accomplishments the merger has produced to date.

“I think we could be a role model for fire department consolidations. Not just locally, but across the state,” he said.

The complete merger plan, which includes a reduction in equipment and the sale of the Greenwood Village station on Old Eberhart Road, is anticipated to be done by Jan. 1.

The Meridian station at 121 Sparks Ave. will become the main station, and Lyndora at 114 Whitestown Road will be a substation.

The other two fire companies in the township, South Butler and Mercer Road, will continue as separate companies.

“Trying to merge all five into one would have been too much,” Kirkwood said.

And during fires, all the township's firefighters will respond as they have done in the past.

“Even though we were five departments and we went to three, when the tones go off and our volunteers are called, we act as one for the betterment of the township residents and our community,” Zarnick said. “We are united.”

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Here are the officers of the new Butler Township Fire Department Station 3:✓ Chief Toby Wehr✓ First Assistant Chief Joe Hanchosky✓ Second Assistant Chief Steve Huey✓ Capt. (Ladder) Dexter Keibler✓ Capt. (Rescue) Shawn Smith✓ Capt. Tim Iman✓ Capt. David Bestwick✓ Capt. Ryan Hanosky✓ Lt. Dave Sanderson✓ Lt. Jamie Senople✓ Lt. Adam Rozic✓ Lt. (Rescue) Ken Wagner✓ Lt. (Ladder) Ryan Black✓ Engineer Rodney Doutt✓ Engineer Bryan Powell✓ Engineer Brad Ringeisen✓ Assistant Engineer Brian Birkbichler✓ Assistant Engineer Steve Iman✓ Assistant Engineer Nick Leslie