The Fowlerville Area Fire Authority has begun to move forward in seeking a solution for the department’s lack of space, after many years of talking about a new station.

Fire Chief John Wright says “space is a really big problem”, as bathrooms, lockers and showers are used as storage rooms at the main station on North Grand Street. It’s not just an interior problem for the building constructed in the 80s’; there’s also a lack of room on the exterior, with garage doors too small for the fire trucks to pass through safely. The department’s substation on Sargent Road is also full.

The Fire Authority Board has started to consider their options, which include expanding the main station, building a new station and acquiring additional property elsewhere. The Board recently met with the department’s firefighters for a brainstorming session to gather input on what they would like to see in a new station. Wright says “there was a lot of stuff thrown out there”, but many of the suggestions were focused on fixing the problem of a lack of space. Firefighters suggested a larger meeting room, larger kitchen, bigger dispatch room, bigger doors and storage areas. Wright says that gives the board an idea as to what they should be looking for and contractors an idea for design purposes.

According to Wright, the board has been trying to save some money each year in anticipation of funding the fix, but can’t be sure how much they’ll need until they’re further along in the process and have made some critical decisions.
(DK)



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