ALGOMA (NBC 26) — After years of planning, the City of Algoma is moving forward with a major upgrade for its firefighters and first responders.
The Algoma Fire and Rescue Department held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for its new fire station, a project city officials say has been in the works for about five years.
"We’ve just outgrown the space," Wayne Schmidt, the Third District Alderman in the City of Algoma, said.
Schmidt, a retired member of the fire and rescue service who served for 50 years, said the expansion has been long overdue.
"When I started, there was no rescue squad, just firefighters, and we had a total of 20 firefighters at that time," Schmidt said.
As Algoma has grown, so has its fire and rescue department. But after nearly 75 years in the same building, the space simply can’t keep up.
"Because of the size [of the current station], we have [equipment] units that are packed back to back in there." Schmidt said, "As far as our ladder truck, for example, we had to have that specially built, otherwise it wouldn’t have fit in the station."
The new fire station is expected to cost around $3.9 million. City Administrator Matt Murphy says it will provide more space and modern features to better serve the department and the community.
"Eight [apparatus] bays, our office area will be bigger, and we do have a mezzanine that’s going to be right around two thousand square feet for some storage," City Administrator Matt Murphy said.
The new station will also include sleeping quarters for EMS staff and will be fully ADA accessible. Fire Chief Tom Ackerman says Thursday’s groundbreaking marks a significant milestone for the department.
"This groundbreaking [Thursday] is exciting not only for myself as a leader of this department, but for all of our staff and hopefully for the community as well," Fire Chief Tom Ackerman said.
City officials hope the new Fire and Rescue Department will attract more members and serve the community for the next 60 years. Fire Chief Ackerman says they’re hoping to be back within the year for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
