New Addition on Idaho Fire Station Provides Much-Needed Space
July 15--The Troy Fire Department showed off its brand new addition Saturday during the station's open house for Troy Old Timers' Day.
Troy Fire Department Chief Ron Stearns said the project to provide the station with more space began two and a half months ago. Stearns said the addition to the south side of the building was desperately needed.
He said in the old building, firefighters barely had enough room to suit up, because there were so many fire trucks crammed into the long, narrow garage area. Stearns also said the fire trucks used to have to exit the station using a narrow alley on the east side of the building.
"When you were getting dressed, trucks were almost running over your feet," Stearns said.
He said the whole process was dangerous and slowed fire response. With the addition, the fire station will have plenty of room to park all of the department's engines and its ambulance.
Stearns said the addition has three doors for engines and features motion sensors, which will automatically shut off the station's lights and close the garage doors after five minutes of inactivity. He said the technology makes the station more secure and energy efficient.
For the past two and a half months, Stearns said Troy firefighters have been working hard to get the addition looking good enough for Troy Old Timers' Day.
"We've been going like mad since we knew it was Troy Days and people would be wanting to look at it," Stearns said.
He said most of the $150,000 station remodel project has been completed by firefighters or local volunteers. Stearns said he hired professionals to pour the concrete for the garage floor to ensure it drained properly.
Stearns said the fire station couldn't have gotten this far in the project without the assistance of the Troy Lions Club. He said the club procured a $50,000 national grant for the station and agreed to donate $20,000 of its own funds.
The department has also earned money for its project by selling bricks to donors who agree to give at least $100. A wall of red bricks with the names of donors etched in them lines the east side of the addition. Stearns said the department has sold 320 bricks so far.
While a good chunk of the remodel is complete, Stearns said there's still work to be done. The firefighters will put in blacktop and shrubs on the east side of the building, scrub and wax the new garage floor and clean the upstairs.
Stearns also said he is thinking about adding another small addition to provide more office space.
"In a remodel, you can't just quit," Stearns said.
He said the department plans to host an official grand opening and barbecue celebrating the new station in September.
Meredith Metsker can be reached at (208) 883-4628, or by email to mmetsker@dnews.com.
Copyright 2013 - Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Moscow, Idaho
