Plans for a new home for Lansford volunteer firefighters took a leap forward following a public hearing late Tuesday at Lansford Borough Hall, 1 W. Ridge St.

After in-depth review of a variance request, members of the borough zoning board gave the OK to American Fire Co. #1 for a 70-foot. x 95-foot. pole building to be constructed on an empty lot at 26 E. Patterson St., US209.The vacant lot was created in May of this year when a 1906 building housing the borough hall and fire station was razed.Eric S. Snyder of Keystone Consulting Engineering, Kresgeville, told the board that the new building will be spacious enough to house necessary equipment and vehicles, as outlined in the zoning appeal."The proposed building site is required to accommodate the oversized fire trucks and fire fighting apparatus," states the variance request.The issue for new construction at the site boiled down to the need for zoners accept a 7.3-foot rear setback as opposed to the 10-foot requirement mandated by zoning guidelines."We're looking at a 2.7-foot variance," testified Borough Solicitor Michael Greek."Requirements for a setback for a variance are relaxed when dealing with a dimensional variance, not a usage variance," Greek clarified.Consideration was given to the fact a neighboring residential parcel, the Nihen property, is located to the rear of the subject parcel.However, a spokesman for the fire company testified that Nihen has been a cooperative neighbor."I approached Mr. Nihen about one week ago and asked if he has objection," testified Joe Greco, assistant chief and secretary. Nihen, however, was very conciliatory. In fact, discussions revealed that the 1906 building appeared to encroach over a property line, a detail asserted in the variance request, which states: "It should also be noted that the proposed building will have less encroachment into the setback than the previously removed building."The specific area of Patterson Street is a district zoned R-2.The variance was the final hurdle in the fire company's plans."Everything now depends on the weather," Snyder said.