Construction of the new fire department for Wadsworth has begun.
The City of Wadsworth has been planning to build a new fire station since the levi passed at the end of 2021.
“This fire station is actually going to replace the one that is currently on North Lyman Street behind City Hall, so we will get rid of that station,” said Bob Linder, fire chief.
The new station will not be an additional station, but a replacement to the current building that they are using. Their current building has been in use for around sixty years.
“When that was designed, it was never designed for having full-time staff operational 24/7,” Linder said.
They are not yet sure about what they are going to do with the current building but there are many options.
“We are currently in the works trying to decide what we are going to do with it,” Linder said. “Most likely, I’m going to say it’s a city building so it will stay within the city, maybe a smaller department might use it or we may use it just for storage for police vehicles or something, we are not really sure yet what is going to happen to it.”
They have added two additions to the original building as they have needed over the years. Over time, the equipment that the fire station requires has grown bigger, meaning that there is less space in the station to store everything that they need.
“Basically, we’ve outgrown it,” Linder said.
With the new building, they want to add more safety features to protect the firefighters that they did not have in the previous. For example, they want to have cancer-removing materials that will limit where the exhaust from the trucks can go to help keep their staff safe.
This new building will also contain a tornado shelter to increase the safety features that they have.
They will have new training elements that they currently do not have, such as being able to practice things with the ladders inside and they will be able to practice more rope-rescue techniques.
Additionally, with the new location, they will have better access to the main road and may be able to get to certain areas of the city quicker.
The dispatch center is also being moved to be housed inside the fire station.
“We are actually going to house them inside the fire station,” Linder said. “Currently, they are in the basement of City Hall.”
They are hoping to finish this project around September or October this year.