CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company has a new leader for next year as President Bruce Hezlep steps down to become a township supervisor.

Hezlep and Fire Chief Brian Kovac presented the fire company’s annual report to the supervisors on Wednesday evening and made the announcement that Ed Hestin, who recently was elected vice president, will become president.

He will assume that role on Jan. 1 to serve out the remaining year of Hezlep’s term.

The fire company’s bylaws prohibit elected officials from serving on its board, which prompted Hezlep to step down.

Hestin’s career as a firefighter started in Monroeville in 1979. He first joined the Cranberry fire company in 1997. After a brief hiatus, he rejoined the fire company two years ago.

Hestin has firefighter I, rescue training and driver certifications with the fire company and also brings his experience as vice president and senior project manager at PNC Financial Services.

Along with the annual report, company officials announced that this year it has exceeded the number of calls from 2012 and it still has more than two weeks left in December.

As of Wednesday, the fire company answered 653 calls, up from 649 calls in 2012.

The response time for those calls dropped from 9 minutes and 22 seconds in 2012 to 8 minutes and 53 seconds this year. Training hours were also up this year to 6,091 hours from 5,525 in 2012.

Hezlep said the fire company this year paved the parking lot of the public safety training facility, put a new roof on the Park Fire Station and replaced a 20-year-old air conditioning unit at the Haine Fire Station.

The fire company also upgraded its records keeping and public alert systems with new Red NMX Alert software that enables personnel to complete records and send them quickly to both the county and the state, to better alert the public of traffic crashes and other emergencies and to improve communications with its membership.

Membership in the fire company grew to 130 members. That includes 57 active firefighters, 10 fire police, 24 Ladies Auxiliary and six junior firefighters with the others being both active and retired life members.

There were 14 new members who joined this year, said Kovac, including John Howley, who is the company’s news fire police officer.

The department is putting together the specification for a new 75-foot aerial ladder truck that it hopes to seeks bids for this year.

It also will replace a command vehicle this year and, through the fire company’s relief association, buy a new squad vehicle.