Archive: News

Tuesday night Lansing voters decided 99 to 69 to build a $2.3 million addition to Lansing Central Fire Station.  The addition will add safety features, bunk rooms, and an additional equipment bay to the station that has not had any major work done to it since it was built 30 years ago.  The addition will be completed with no additional cost to taxpayers, largely due to long term planning and saving to a building reserve fund over the course of years.

"I'm very happy with the outcome," said Department President and Fire Commissioners Chairman Robert Wagner when the count was announced Tuesday night.  "I'm happy that we have the support of the Town and the Village."


Wagner says that commissioners feared the vote would go against the project when they realized what a high voter turnout there was.  172 voters came out Tuesday night.  That may not seem like a high turnout for the whole district, but in an environment where between 35 and 75 voters typically turn out for Fire District votes Tuesday's turnout was significant, if not impressive.

Two major pieces of the current station are not currently up to building code.  The first is the decontamination facility, or to be more precise, the lack of one.  Equipment exposed to chemicals or blood during a 911 call are currently decontaminated in an equipment bay (the large garage space that holds fire engines) or the station's kitchen where emergency responders make coffee and food.  The second is the bunker facility -- the station has no bunkers because it's dormitory facility doesn't meet code.

The new bay will mean that vehicles won't have to be shuffled around the bays before responding to emergency calls.  New bunking facilities will allow for privacy among male and female bunkers, which officials hope will attract new volunteers.

"Once we get the building I believe that's going to be an attractive feature," Wagner says.  "That will help.  We do need the volunteers right now.  It's the same all over the country.  This is one thing that might help attract them, and we'll be able to get the trucks out faster and save lives."

A dedicated decontamination room will mean less chance of exposure to emergency responders.

"We'll have a decontamination room, which we really need," Wagner says.  "We're not up to code for that right now.  We're just waiting for the Health Department to come and say, 'When are you going to get something?'  Now we'll be able to tell them.  I'm happy."

Of the 170 votes 99 voted yes, 69 no, and two were incorrectly filled out.

Now that the vote has passed final plans will be drawn up and the project will have to be put out for bid.  Officials estimate that construction will start after the first of the year, and it will take about a year to complete the project.

----
v5i36