A dedication ceremony in honor of Palmerton's new fire station will be held at noon Saturday.

At that time, an open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Palmerton Municipal Fire Company, located at Fifth Street and Lehigh Avenue.The keynote speaker will be Wayne Nothstein, a veteran firefighter and chairman of the Carbon County Board of Commissioners.Also in attendance will be former Speaker of the House Keith McCall, as well as a representative from the office of Doyle Heffley, borough officials, and firefighters.The open house will give the public an opportunity to see the fire station up close and personal, according to Larry Zawaly, fire chief for the Palmerton Municipal Fire Company."A lot of people were interested in seeing the inside of the new station, how the trucks fit in," Zawaly said. "My feelings are it's a great advantage to have the central fire station downtown because it dramatically decreases the response time."Zawaly continued to express his praise for the new station."The building is an excellent addition to the fire department," he said. "It has everything we basically need, a lot of extra room."Borough Manager Rodger Danielson said the open house is being held because of the community interest in the new station, and the number of people who expressed interest in seeing it."Certainly, it is here for the community, and to serve the community," Danielson said. "It's a good time for the community to get in touch with the fire company that's serving them."In December, council agreed to adopt an ordinance to establish the Palmerton Municipal Fire Company as an officially recognized fire company to provide fire protection and related services to the borough.The formation of the Palmerton Municipal Fire Company coincided with the completion of the borough's new, $1.2 million, three-bay fire station.The fire station was built by CC Construction Services of Allentown, which was awarded a contract to build it at a cost of $1,249,000.In Octobers 2010, the borough accepted a grant presented by McCall for the purchase of a new fire station. It was determined at that time that the borough would utilize that grant, along with $35,000 from the borough's general fund, to cover the $940,000 cost to build the fire station.Danielson said at that time the new station was built with a $906,000 grant the borough received, and funds the borough had available.The station has double entry from both Lehigh Avenue, as well as the alley between Delaware Avenue and Lehigh Avenue, he said. The station also has room to house up to five vehicles, Danielson said.The two-story fire station consists of 5,880 square feet of unfinished space in the first floor, and 1,736 square feet of unfinished space in the second floor.In addition, there are two access driveways, a small parking area, and various utility service connections.