New State-Of-The-Art Fire Station Hosts Open House Saturday
October 19, 2018 at 5:14 p.m.
New State-Of-The-Art Fire Station Hosts Open House Saturday
By Dan [email protected]
Galbraith and his wife and two children live in Eagle Crest subdivision west of the new fire station on Warsaw’s south side that became operational Sept. 12.
He and his family moved into the growing neighborhood about three years ago and didn’t even know plans for Fire Station 3 existed, and he’s not even sure if his homeowner insurance rates will go down as a result of the new fire station.
Other things are more important.
“I feel safer now,” Galbraith said. “I?feel more secure since it’s close by.”
Warsaw Community Church, to the east of the fire house, sent a box of doughnuts to its new neighbors on the first day of operations.
Scott Nieveen, pastor of operations with the church, said they see the fire station’s arrival as a huge blessing for neighborhoods, churches and schools in the southern part of Wayne Township.
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“It provides a bit of security and comfort in knowing they are much closer and available if they are needed,” Nieveen said.
The public can get a glimpse of the new digs Saturday during an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ceremony scheduled for noon. The station is at 620 W. CR 200S.
What visitors will find is a state-of-the-art building designed to serve a growing population now and in the future.
Fire Chief Mike Wilson said authorities approached the plans for the new station with the hopes of providing faster response time, an improved fire rating for insurance and a design that would handle future growth.
“So far, I think we’ve done a good job of meeting those goals,” Wilson said.
Areas surrounding the station are growing quickly. Within a few miles, there is a school, a retirement home and Warsaw Community Church, one of the biggest churches in Kosciusko County. Nearby subdivisions like Eagle Crest are seeing new construction.
“There’s going be a lot of people who are much better served by that station,” said Wayne Township Board member Rob Bishop.
Bishop said one of the biggest benefits involves fire ratings established through the ISO, an organization that does statistical analysis on risk. In the past, ratings in the township have been “significantly poorer” compared to those inside the city, he said.
“Since we were paying the same tax rate, it was definitely a fairness issue to get that station out there so we could get the same level of protection as the people in the city limits,” Bishop said.
The fire station is the only one in the territory located south of Warsaw.
Wilson said response time to fires will be improved by about two minutes, compared to runs from Fire Station No. 1 in downtown Warsaw.
The fire territory is now divided into three zones. Station 3 covers the southern half of the township south of Rozella Road and Pierceton Road. Stations 1 and 2 divide the northern half of the township with eastern and western zones. The town of Winona Lake continues to operate a volunteer fire department, but has a close working relationship with the fire territory.
Years of Planning
Plans to construct a third fire house began 10 years when Warsaw merged operations with Wayne Township in 2008, and is the first fire station to provide housing for Lutheran EMS medics.
Representatives of the fire territory looked at several properties but chose CR 200S for its central location.
Wayne Township purchased the land from Warsaw Community Church for $76,000.
The original design came with a price tag of $3.2 million, but was modified after complaints. Plans for a basement were eliminated and changes were made to the roof design. Construction bids came in lower than expected and the price tag was reduced to about $2.4 million.
The building was designed by MartinRiley Architects, Fort Wayne, and constructed by Mosaic Building Solutions, Fort Wayne.
Despite the changes, the new fire station is very much a state-of-the art, full-service facility, Wilson said.
The building has three bays, including one reserved for Lutheran EMS.
“As long as we were going to build a station, we were also going to house one of their ambulances. It’s just a win-win,” Wilson said.
The fire station is also home to technical rescue truck and trailer and one of two foam trailers used by the department for spills and chemical fires.
“We’ve become an all encompassing emergency response service that handles all types of calls,” Wilson said.
The bay area is more than just a oversized garage for large vehicles.
Steel rafters in the bay area have a hoisting system that can be used for training for “high angle” rescues and rappelling. A non-descript lid in the floor opens up to a tunnel designed to practice what Wilson calls “confined space rescues.”
Firefighters have an office to file reports and an exercise room. They share a bunk room that can house up to nine people. Two separate sleeping rooms are set aside for medics.
The 12,200-square-foot building also has a spacious day room and kitchen area.
The station is staffed by three firemen and two medics from Lutheran EMS, but is designed with future growth in mind. The building could accommodate as many as 12 people in the future, Wilson said.
“Ten years from now, we don’t know what the growth of the community is going to be or what the needs are, so we built it with anticipation that it was going to have to grow,” he said.
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Galbraith and his wife and two children live in Eagle Crest subdivision west of the new fire station on Warsaw’s south side that became operational Sept. 12.
He and his family moved into the growing neighborhood about three years ago and didn’t even know plans for Fire Station 3 existed, and he’s not even sure if his homeowner insurance rates will go down as a result of the new fire station.
Other things are more important.
“I feel safer now,” Galbraith said. “I?feel more secure since it’s close by.”
Warsaw Community Church, to the east of the fire house, sent a box of doughnuts to its new neighbors on the first day of operations.
Scott Nieveen, pastor of operations with the church, said they see the fire station’s arrival as a huge blessing for neighborhoods, churches and schools in the southern part of Wayne Township.
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“It provides a bit of security and comfort in knowing they are much closer and available if they are needed,” Nieveen said.
The public can get a glimpse of the new digs Saturday during an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ceremony scheduled for noon. The station is at 620 W. CR 200S.
What visitors will find is a state-of-the-art building designed to serve a growing population now and in the future.
Fire Chief Mike Wilson said authorities approached the plans for the new station with the hopes of providing faster response time, an improved fire rating for insurance and a design that would handle future growth.
“So far, I think we’ve done a good job of meeting those goals,” Wilson said.
Areas surrounding the station are growing quickly. Within a few miles, there is a school, a retirement home and Warsaw Community Church, one of the biggest churches in Kosciusko County. Nearby subdivisions like Eagle Crest are seeing new construction.
“There’s going be a lot of people who are much better served by that station,” said Wayne Township Board member Rob Bishop.
Bishop said one of the biggest benefits involves fire ratings established through the ISO, an organization that does statistical analysis on risk. In the past, ratings in the township have been “significantly poorer” compared to those inside the city, he said.
“Since we were paying the same tax rate, it was definitely a fairness issue to get that station out there so we could get the same level of protection as the people in the city limits,” Bishop said.
The fire station is the only one in the territory located south of Warsaw.
Wilson said response time to fires will be improved by about two minutes, compared to runs from Fire Station No. 1 in downtown Warsaw.
The fire territory is now divided into three zones. Station 3 covers the southern half of the township south of Rozella Road and Pierceton Road. Stations 1 and 2 divide the northern half of the township with eastern and western zones. The town of Winona Lake continues to operate a volunteer fire department, but has a close working relationship with the fire territory.
Years of Planning
Plans to construct a third fire house began 10 years when Warsaw merged operations with Wayne Township in 2008, and is the first fire station to provide housing for Lutheran EMS medics.
Representatives of the fire territory looked at several properties but chose CR 200S for its central location.
Wayne Township purchased the land from Warsaw Community Church for $76,000.
The original design came with a price tag of $3.2 million, but was modified after complaints. Plans for a basement were eliminated and changes were made to the roof design. Construction bids came in lower than expected and the price tag was reduced to about $2.4 million.
The building was designed by MartinRiley Architects, Fort Wayne, and constructed by Mosaic Building Solutions, Fort Wayne.
Despite the changes, the new fire station is very much a state-of-the art, full-service facility, Wilson said.
The building has three bays, including one reserved for Lutheran EMS.
“As long as we were going to build a station, we were also going to house one of their ambulances. It’s just a win-win,” Wilson said.
The fire station is also home to technical rescue truck and trailer and one of two foam trailers used by the department for spills and chemical fires.
“We’ve become an all encompassing emergency response service that handles all types of calls,” Wilson said.
The bay area is more than just a oversized garage for large vehicles.
Steel rafters in the bay area have a hoisting system that can be used for training for “high angle” rescues and rappelling. A non-descript lid in the floor opens up to a tunnel designed to practice what Wilson calls “confined space rescues.”
Firefighters have an office to file reports and an exercise room. They share a bunk room that can house up to nine people. Two separate sleeping rooms are set aside for medics.
The 12,200-square-foot building also has a spacious day room and kitchen area.
The station is staffed by three firemen and two medics from Lutheran EMS, but is designed with future growth in mind. The building could accommodate as many as 12 people in the future, Wilson said.
“Ten years from now, we don’t know what the growth of the community is going to be or what the needs are, so we built it with anticipation that it was going to have to grow,” he said.
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