Fire station gets upgrade in Pelican Rapids

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Firefighters in Pelican Rapids will get a much needed facility upgrade when the department moves into a new fire hall this fall. Construction on the new building began in June, with a tentative move-in date of October.

The current building, located at Highway 59 and First Avenue, was a theater for many years before becoming the fire hall in the late 1960s. It has served the department well, said Fire Chief Trevor Steeves, but firefighters’ changing responsibilities over the past 40 years means their facility needs to adapt as well.

“What we’re expected to do is way beyond fight fires,” Steeves said, referring to the many kinds of calls firefighters receive. “We run the gamut, which is fine — that’s what we’re here for. But you also need a facility to put your equipment in.”

The new hall will be just under 12,000 square feet, compared to the current building’s 4,500 feet. The department has had to store equipment at three other locations throughout Pelican Rapids because there simply isn’t room in the current building, Steeves said. Most of the department’s seven trucks barely fit in the garage.

“We have 27 feet from back to door and we have four trucks that are 26.6 (feet),” Steeves said, adding that firefighters need to open the garage door to move from one side of a truck to the opposite side. When the Pelican Rapids Fire Department orders its trucks, it is limited to truck features that will fit in the garage.

More space will also improve firefighter training. Firefighters have had to travel elsewhere for training because their building was too small to bring instructors in.

“We’re going to be able to train in-house much better,” Steeves said. “It will be a lot more cost-efficient.”

Safety concerns also served as an impetus for building a new facility, Steeves said. Poor visibility at the intersection near the current site has resulted in near-accidents between fire trucks and oncoming traffic. The new location, one block south between Second and Third avenues is better situated for pulling out on to Highway 59.

The fire hall will also make life easier for the 24 volunteer firefighters who operate out of the building. Because there is no available parking at the current location, firefighters have had to park on the opposite side of Highway 59. The new hall will provide on-site parking.

When the contractor’s work is completed around October, firefighters will move into the building and complete projects like bathrooms and meeting rooms themselves, Steeves said. The entire hall should be completed by January.

Construction on the new building is being funded by residents in Pelican Rapids, Erhard and the nine townships in which the department provides service. The department serves about 9,000 permanent residents, but a total of around 30,000 on weekends and holidays, Steeves said.

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