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News
New fire station anticipates more growth : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisNew fire station anticipates more growth
| Work on Woolley Road facility about 90% complete; agency officials eye September move-in
| by John Etheredge
| 7/9/2009
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You'll see corn and soy bean fields if you look eastward out of a second floor window of the spacious new Oswego Fire Protection District Station No. 1.
But the 40,000 square foot red brick building along the north side of Woolley Road about one-half mile east of Plainfield Road in Oswego anticipates the day when those farm fields are filled with homes.
On a tour of the station this past week, Fire District Board President Jim Detzler said the building is now about 90 percent complete and should be ready for the fire district to move into by mid-September.
Detzler acknowledges the station likely appears large to motorists passing by the construction site.
"Most people would say this is too big and, probably for today, it is a little too big, but it won't be in another ten years," he said.
"When this was designed the homebuilding in our district was going great guns and I've said many times we've always tried to keep ahead of the curve with our planning," he continued. "Now, maybe we are a little around the curve a bit, but that's OK because things will pick-up again. Construction will get going and this building should be good for on up to 70 years-at least."
To pay for the station and its' estimated $9.5 million construction cost, Detzler said the fire district will use revenues from its ambulance fees.
"This is all being paid for with our ambulance fees," he said, adding, "There are no tax monies being used to pay for this."
Detzler noted that ambulance calls account for about 85 percent of the estimated 4,000 emergency calls the fire district responds to each year. From those ambulance calls, he said, the district receives about $1 million in annual revenues, enough to cover the debt service for the new station.
The new station will replace the district's current Station No. 1 built in 1952 on Oswego's Main Street.
Fire Chief Brad Smith, whose career with the fire district dates to when it was staffed entirely by volunteers and it did not operate an ambulance service, acknowledged that the pending closure of the Main Street station will mark the end of an era both for the fire district and the community.
"But the way the district has grown over the last several years it's time to move. And now that we have a little slow time with development slowing down, this is a good time to pull the plug on downtown," Smith said.
"Is it too soon? I don't think so. Something had to be done. We've been out of space for a long time," he added.
Smith noted that currently the fire district has equipment packed into the Main Street station and three, smaller satellite stations in Oswego, Montgomery and Plainfield, respectively.
Smith said much of the equipment-including water rescue boats- will be moved to the new Station No. 1 which will have not only the needed extra room, but is also centrally located in the fire district.
The new station will also house the district's administrative offices and fire marshal.
Due to the overcrowded conditions at the Main Street station, the district's administrative offices have been split in recent years between Station No. 1 and Station No. 2 at Wiesbrook Drive and Fifth Street in Oswego.
Smith said he is looking forward to having all of the district's administrative offices under one roof.
"It's going to be better for our operations all around to have it all in one building," he said.
When the Main Street station was built, local ambulance service was provided by private companies, while the fire district was staffed entirely by volunteers who responded to fire calls only. At that time, the village had a population of less than 2,000 and there weren't that many more residents living in the unincorporated areas of the district.
Today, the fire district serves approximately 40,000 people living in a 60 square mile area in northeast Kendall and northwest Will counties that encompasses Oswego, nearly half the Village of Montgomery, a portion of the Village of Plainfield and several large unincorporated subdivisions, including Boulder Hill.
The fire district currently employs 62 full-time paramedic firefighters and eight additional support staff members.
Design invokes
fire stations of old
Though the new station is designed to meet the fire district's current and future needs, the building's design and architectural features invoke fire stations of the past.
"The fire service is steeped in traditions and we wanted to continue those traditions with this building," Detzler said.
Perhaps the building's most distinctive features are the soaring bell tower that stands near the building's main entrance and the stone accent arches over each of the building's equipment bays.
Square concrete blocks featuring the fire district's initials have been placed on the second level of the building's brick exterior walls and in a monument sign placed along Woolley Road near the entrance to the station's site.
The word's "Duty," "Pride" and "Traditions" are engraved in a stone block adjoining the bell tower near the station's entrance.
Detzler noted that fire district officials initially considered placing the historic fire bell that is now displayed along the sidewalk in front of the Main Street station in the bell tower. The bell was once used to summon volunteer firefighters to the agency's first fire station when it was located in what was once the township hall on Washington Street (U.S. Route 34) in the village's downtown. Detzler said, however, the old bell is simply too small, so a 'fake' bell will be put in the tower.
In addition to the arches above the equipment bays, contractors will install red doors with windows on the four bays across the front of the building. The doors will be similar to those that once appeared on fire stations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Inside, under the bell tower, the fire district's 1929 Model A Ford fire truck will be on permanent display.
Detzler said the fire district's 1936 fire truck-the first purchased by the fire district after it was established through a referendum-may also be put on display.
Both trucks were restored several years ago under the guidance of the late Bill Penn, a former long-time volunteer firefighter.
Unlike most vintage fire stations, the new station also has a large training room with enough space to accommodate gatherings of up to 100 people and a separate service bay where fire trucks and ambulances can be repaired.
Detzler said the spacious training room will be a good location for joint training sessions with other area emergency response agencies. In addition, he said, the fire district plans to make the room available for other public events.
Detzler confirmed a public open house will be held at the station late this year or early next year.
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