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18 August 2023
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Fire stations of the world: Decatur Fire Department opens up new fire station, Illinois, US
Residents on the southeast side of Decatur in Illinois, US, may feel a bit safer now that they have their own firehouse. Decatur Fire Chief Jeff Abbott, along with other members of the community, hosted an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday, 15 August 2023, to welcome Fire Station 7, at 3540 E Chestnut Avenue, to the neighbourhood. “I’m really happy for the fire fighters,” Chief Abbott said. “They have really good working conditions.”
Fire Station 7 will serve the area south and east of Lake Decatur. Fire fighters were previously stationed at Decatur Airport.
The new facility features a full gym, kitchen, living area, private bunks for on-call fire fighters and the latest alert technology. Lt Jeff Snyder said the upgraded amenities will allow the station’s staff to more effectively serve the community. “You can’t go anywhere in the station without having a speaker where you can hear calls,” Snyder said. “There are TV screens in multiple spots where we can see calls whenever they’re coming in and we can know where we’re headed before we even get to the truck. We have a lot more space, better cooking facilities and a better gym than the station this took the place of.”
Fire Station 7 is home to Engine 7, 2017 Pierce Saber Pumper. There are nine fire fighters assigned to three shifts, three per shift. Station 7 is also home to the Decatur Park District Airport Fire Department, which has Rescue 1, 1997 GMC Ramp Truck and Rescue 3, 2006 Oshkosh Aircraft Crash Truck. There are four fire fighters assigned to 24 hour shifts.
“This is in a much better location,” Chief Abbott said. The station, which cost about $3.11 million to build, is the third recently constructed fire station. The four other fire stations have also received maintenance and updates.
Living conditions are among the updates to the fire stations, including individual sleeping quarters and new workout rooms. “It’s good for male and female fire fighters both,” Chief Abbott added.
Fire fighter Adam Coleman, who brought his daughter Harper to the open house, agreed the new fire stations provide better living conditions. “You get your own bunks or individual rooms, for privacy,” he said. “The facilities are fantastic. They make a big difference.”
According to the city administration, money for the construction was provided by some federal COVID-relief funds as well as by various bonds, which will be paid back during the next several years.
The City of Decatur began studying the needs for additional fire stations in 2010, according to Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe. “And here we are 13 years later and we’re finally finished,” she said. “We’ve done renovations at many of our firehouses. We’ve built two other new ones, besides this one. This, thankfully, is the last one we’re going to do for a while.”
According to Chief Abbott, a former fire chief suggested the city build a fire station in the same area in 1968. “So here we are 50-some years later back where we should have been to start with,” he said.
The new firehouse replaced two in the area before construction began approximately 18 months ago. Other new fire stations have a similar blueprint. “Station 5 has a basement. We had to have an elevator,” Chief Abbott said. “We made some adjustments.”
Chief Abbott agreed the area was ideal for a firehouse. “This is the one I wanted to build first,” he said. “This one, I think, makes the biggest difference to the fire protection and the city.”
The location for the fire station was important to the mayor as well. “We’ve had so much growth in this side of town,” Moore Wolfe said. “We had to make sure our fire fighters could get to the people that needed them the most.”
Sources: Decatur Fire Department, Herald and Review, Now Decatur
Fire Station 7 will serve the area south and east of Lake Decatur. Fire fighters were previously stationed at Decatur Airport.
The new facility features a full gym, kitchen, living area, private bunks for on-call fire fighters and the latest alert technology. Lt Jeff Snyder said the upgraded amenities will allow the station’s staff to more effectively serve the community. “You can’t go anywhere in the station without having a speaker where you can hear calls,” Snyder said. “There are TV screens in multiple spots where we can see calls whenever they’re coming in and we can know where we’re headed before we even get to the truck. We have a lot more space, better cooking facilities and a better gym than the station this took the place of.”
Fire Station 7 is home to Engine 7, 2017 Pierce Saber Pumper. There are nine fire fighters assigned to three shifts, three per shift. Station 7 is also home to the Decatur Park District Airport Fire Department, which has Rescue 1, 1997 GMC Ramp Truck and Rescue 3, 2006 Oshkosh Aircraft Crash Truck. There are four fire fighters assigned to 24 hour shifts.
“This is in a much better location,” Chief Abbott said. The station, which cost about $3.11 million to build, is the third recently constructed fire station. The four other fire stations have also received maintenance and updates.
Living conditions are among the updates to the fire stations, including individual sleeping quarters and new workout rooms. “It’s good for male and female fire fighters both,” Chief Abbott added.
Fire fighter Adam Coleman, who brought his daughter Harper to the open house, agreed the new fire stations provide better living conditions. “You get your own bunks or individual rooms, for privacy,” he said. “The facilities are fantastic. They make a big difference.”
According to the city administration, money for the construction was provided by some federal COVID-relief funds as well as by various bonds, which will be paid back during the next several years.
The City of Decatur began studying the needs for additional fire stations in 2010, according to Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe. “And here we are 13 years later and we’re finally finished,” she said. “We’ve done renovations at many of our firehouses. We’ve built two other new ones, besides this one. This, thankfully, is the last one we’re going to do for a while.”
According to Chief Abbott, a former fire chief suggested the city build a fire station in the same area in 1968. “So here we are 50-some years later back where we should have been to start with,” he said.
The new firehouse replaced two in the area before construction began approximately 18 months ago. Other new fire stations have a similar blueprint. “Station 5 has a basement. We had to have an elevator,” Chief Abbott said. “We made some adjustments.”
Chief Abbott agreed the area was ideal for a firehouse. “This is the one I wanted to build first,” he said. “This one, I think, makes the biggest difference to the fire protection and the city.”
The location for the fire station was important to the mayor as well. “We’ve had so much growth in this side of town,” Moore Wolfe said. “We had to make sure our fire fighters could get to the people that needed them the most.”
Sources: Decatur Fire Department, Herald and Review, Now Decatur
