By: Deborah Johnson Wood
At their old digs on West Walton, the firefighters of Muskegon's Central Fire Station had to keep two of their trucks at a different location because they didn't fit in the 77-year-old building.
Soon, three fire trucks, a rescue unit, and an aerial ladder truck will be shined and gleaming inside the five pull-through bays of the new downtown station at 770 Terrace.
The two-story station features an attached three-story training tower. Firefighters will be able to practice firefighting techniques inside and outside, whether facing a fire atop the three-story stairwell, practicing high rise ladder rescues through the windows, rappelling down the side of a building, or maneuvering within confined spaces.
"We used to train wherever we could," says Fire Chief Mark Kincaid. "We'd borrow a building or use buildings that were going to be torn down. Now we have the training tower, and everything inside is exterior grade so water won't ruin it."
The 23,000-square-foot building is equipped with private living quarters for the firefighters, including nine beds, four bathrooms, a commercial kitchen, the battalion chief's private quarters, and a living room.
"It's really a gorgeous building," Kincaid says. "Our old place is on the National Register of Historic Buildings, so the architects made replicas of the medallions on the old building and put them on the new one as a connection to the past."
The fire department will be operating from the building by the end of October.
Cole & Russell Architects of Cincinnati designed the station. The firm has designed over 70 fire stations. Hooker DeJong was the on-site architect. Beckering Advisor, Inc. was the construction manager.
Source: Mark Kincaid, Muskegon Fire Department
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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