Our firefighters are dedicated to protecting life, property, and the community through emergency response, prevention, education, and professionalism. The mission of the Sharon Fire Department is to protect life, property, and the environment through the delivery of prompt and skillful fire suppression and rescue services, hazardous materials mitigation, and disaster management; and to provide a safe environment for citizens and visitors through public education, fire prevention programs, and fire code enforcement. Nestled within the westernmost portion of Mercer County, Sharon is equidistant between the cities of Erie and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and Cleveland in bordering Ohio. Once a thriving primary metals town, Sharon is in long-term economic duress (28 consecutive years-to-date) resulting in a flux among residents. This continuing loss of a once iron-clan industrial base has resulted in abandoned and neglected buildings that, coupled with an aging and deteriorating stock of housing, pose unique challenges to the City’s firefighters. The again thriving downtown section is cradled between two steep hills, one that is a city block from the Ohio border and the other that serves as a steppingstone to the eastern sector of town. As a former “mill town,” the City is densely populated with street after street of row-type housing radiating in every direction towards neighboring towns. Today, the City’s 3.7 square miles embrace nearly 600 commercial buildings and 7,388 housing units. At least 50% of the homes were built before 1939 with at least 41% of the families in these homes having moved into the homes since 1995. This synopsis presents evidence of why the Sharon Fire Department responds to an average of 74 structure fires per year.
