This fire station replaces one a stone throw’s away on Race Street that served the community since the 1960s.
That station replaced the first city fire station that had been built in the 1800s next to City Hall on South Market Street.
A piece of that station’s history — the fire pole — made the journey from South Market Street to Race Street and then to the new station, said Fire Chief Matthew Simmons.
New to this station is an area off the vehicle bay for firefighters to clean up and decontaminate as soon as they return from a call, a measure implemented by the profession to help deal with health concerns raised by some environments in which firefighter/paramedics work.
“Cancer prevention is now a key. We have learned a lot over the last couple of years of how important it is for them to clean up as soon as they get done,” Simmons said.
Mayor Robin Oda said the city also is excited about the addition of the Safe Haven baby box. The baby boxes allow parents to surrender a newborn safely and anonymously if they cannot provide care until the child is 30 days old. Oda said the baby box was suggested by the late Firefighter Jason Holfinger, who approached department leadership about the possibility of including a baby box at the new station six months before his unexpected death at age 38 in 2018.
The box “gives them (parents/guardians) the chance … to make sure the baby is safe,” Oda said.
Firefighters moved into the new station several weeks before the open house, which was delayed until everything needed to make a working elevator was in place. The final elevator inspection was made just a couple of days before the open house.
Oda and Simmons participated in the ceremony where they uncoupled a fire hose as staff gathered nearby.The ceremony is similar to a ribbon-cutting at other construction projects.
The final cost of the new station will be around $5.4 million, said Patrick Titterington, the city service and safety director.
“This fire station was designed to take us way into the future,” Simmons said.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com.
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