As buildings age, their structural deficiencies begin to surface.

That's the issue currently plaguing the Jim Thorpe Fire Department and Jim Thorpe Borough as they try to agree on the future of the town's three remaining fire stations.At a borough council meeting on Thursday, Councilman John McGuire said between the two stations on the west side of town, Phoenix Hose Company and Diligent Fire Company 3, almost $200,000 in repairs are needed. Floors in both buildings are in bad shape and Phoenix could use a new furnace, among other fixes.Both buildings are old, built in the late 1800s, according to Jim Thorpe Deputy Fire Chief Bill Diehm."We need to have a serious discussion about what to do there," McGuire told other council members on Thursday. "Do we combine those two stations? That's a bad word when you talk to fire companies. They all have their loyalties to their own and it's something they are very passionate about."Phoenix Hose Company is located on West Broadway, across from Immaculate Conception Church, while Diligent Fire Company 3 is located on Center Avenue in what is known as "The Heights."The other remaining station, Fairview Hose Company is on the east side of town at Ninth and School streets."Phoenix is in the worst shape," Diehm said. "There is a creek that goes under a part of the building. That is the most serious one at the moment."Marion Hose Company 1, near the Mauch Chunk Opera House, closed a number of years ago.Any decision on the future of the stations would need to go before the membership of all the companies, Diehm said."I'm a realist," he said. "Someday there will be two stations. I don't care how you look at it. We're hurting for manpower like anybody else. It's a shame. Years ago we had no money and a lot of guys. Now we have access to more grants than we ever did before, but our volunteers are down."Council President Greg Strubinger said grant money is available for the combination of firecompanies.According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 69 percent of fire departments across the country have just one station, 17 percent have two stations and 14 percent have three or more stations."We have property across from the borough water plant (700 W. Broadway), and property across the street from the Diligent station," McGuire said. "I'm not saying this is going to happen, but I think it's something for the fire department to thinkabout."The advantage ofleaving the current stations where they are, McGuire said, is that all areas of the town have quick and adequate coverage."We have to get our fire personnel to emergencies on the weekend, which is the hardest part," he said. "You can't get up Broadway on the weekend."Having three stations is nice, but Diehm admitted that staffing them all gets more difficult with time.Jim Thorpe currently has around 40 volunteers throughout its department, but if you take out junior members with limited firefighting capabilities, the number drops into the 30s."That's still a very nice number, but daytime calls are tough," Diehm said. "We're not the only one. All the departments are fighting that."McGuire said he and other borough officials plan to meet with fire department leadership again in August to further discuss future building plans.