HARMONY — Progress is being reported at the Harmony Fire District, one year after coming into existence.

The fire district officially came to be in December 2015 after years of planning between the former Zelienople and Harmony fire departments.

“We have made a tremendous amount of progress in a year,” said Fire Chief Scott Garing. “The progress that takes years to accomplish we did in a year.”

Talks to merge the two former borough fire departments into one go back to the 1990s.

The fire district today has about 100 volunteers. About 10 new members were added this year.

“We’re continually getting new applications and one of the cool things is a lot of them are old members coming back to participate in the fire district,” Garing said.

Firefighters responded to more than 400 calls this year, said fire district President Tim Sapienza.

“That’s quite a bit,” Sapienza said.

The fire district sold four pieces of equipment this year it did not need and recently purchased a new ladder truck. It also upgraded its rescue truck, which will be unveiled Sunday.

“We have accomplished so much in the first year, it’s almost unbelievable,” Sapienza said. “There was a lot of hard work and effort put in by a lot of people.”

The fire district continues to seek a new location for its headquarters. Officials previously said they are trying to find a new home that will accommodate members and retain the fire district’s low insurance service office rating.

“The ISO is recommending we stay in a certain location, which is basically from Main Street in Harmony to Main Street in Zelienople,” Sapienza said. “We’re in negotiations with several property owners. It’s close.”

Sapienza said the fire district has been able to lower its ISO rating from a five to a three. He also said the fire district saved about $30,000 in insurance costs.

Garing said with the selling of old fire engines that will not be replaced, taxpayers can see “about $2 million in savings.”

“We set one heck of a pace for the organization, and the upkeep this year will be a task,” he said. “But I expect to do that or better.”

Local officials said the fire district has been beneficial to communities.

“I can’t believe it’s been one year already,” Harmony Mayor Cathy Rape said. “I think everybody got along well and cooperated.”

Rape said she likes that the fire district has an auxiliary division that supplies firefighters with food and beverages during calls.

“That’s a big plus for the fire company, that they have such good support and that only encourages other people to get involved,” she said.

Zelienople borough manager Don Pepe said despite the fire headquarters being in Harmony for the time being, response times have been similar to when the borough had its own municipal fire department.

“It (fire district) appears to have been successful,” Pepe said. “The fire district did a wonderful job covering all bases. They have met and exceeded their goals.”