Battery-Operated Flares Added In Falls Township

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA —The township recently purchased battery-operated flares and supervisors got to see a demonstration by fire police on their usage.

At the recent Falls Township Supervisors Meeting, Fire Marshal Rich Dippolito and fire police representatives demonstrated the flares.

Supervisor Vice Chairman Jeff Boraski said he heard of another municipality that had begun using battery-operated flares and thought it was a great product.

Unlike live flares, which last roughly 20 minutes, battery-operated flares last longer, can be synced, and programmed to do different things, Dippolito said.

So far, the township has about 12 battery-powered flares, Dippolito said.

Fire police are in the process of trying them out and have not yet used them for traffic or emergency incidents.

Falls purchased the flares from a company called pi-lit. According to the company, the flares can
“automatically sequence the flash.”

“Approaching drivers will see a sequentially-lit string of flares much like a runway landing strip that guides traffic around the incident or work zone,” according to the company website. “They are easy to deploy and provide advanced traffic guidance and safety.”

For Dippolito, safety is the first priority.

“Anything to make it safer is better,” he said.

In other township news:

Business is booming for a Falls Township warehousing company that it intends to grow in size by nearly one-third.

Falls Supervisors gave preliminary and final land development approval to B & J Group to build a 56,840-square-foot addition to its existing 177,986-square-foot building situated on a 14-acre lot at 1001 New Ford Mill Rd. in the township’s highway industrial district.

Plans call for the company to add 22,840 square feet on the north side of the building; and additions of 13,200 square feet and 20,800 square feet on the east and south sides of the building.

A green roof over one of the additions would help to counteract the additional impervious surface, according to township engineer Joseph Jones, who said he saw “no adverse effects.”