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PAGE 3 Up from the Ashes While the firefighters were busy fighting the fire in the station, work had already begun at finding temporary housing. The old bus barn, just two doors up the street from the fire station, was nearly vacant. The building's owner was contacted, and he arrived by 2:00pm with a key. By then, the firefight was over, and most of what could be salvaged had been removed from the station. We began moving up the street immediately.
The equipment stayed in this building until November, when repairs to the old station were completed. We continued to rent the office space, as it was decided not to fully restore the old station. This worked out well, as we purchased a used Snorkel truck that wouldn't have fit in the old building, anyway.
Work began at once to plan a new station.
The fire district trustees secured 3½ acres on the north end of the
Village, and a rough plan was sketched. After submitting these
sketches to three different builders, the District finally awarded the
contract to Phalen Steel Construction of Mendota. The only hitch:
we needed the money. So, an effort was begun to go to the voters
for an increase in our tax levy. All of the apparatus, parked in front of the old station. We were putting ten pounds of sugar in a five pound sack.
The taxpayers of the district responded generously. The referendum passed by about a 2.5:1 margin, and we were off to building.... To see the progress of construction, go to page 4. |
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Conditions
in the barn were spartan to say the least, but it got us by. The
office space actually afforded us a larger meeting room.
This
is the only known image of training taking place in the temporary
quarters. Here, EMTs are being fit-tested for N-95 masks.