City of Sioux Center issued the following announcement on Nov. 27.
A new Fire Station No. 2 may replace the existing structures to better serve Sioux Center.
A plan for the new Fire Station No. 2, with four highway-facing overhead doors, dimensions well-suited for fire truck storage, a wash/maintenance bay, and a gear room, was presented to the Sioux Center City Council by Fire Chief Dave Van Holland and Captain Benj Van Donge this week.
Fire Station No. 2, in southern Sioux Center, allows for quicker response times and helps keep a strong ISO rating for the community, which can help lower property owners’ insurance rates. Currently, the station consists of two separate garage-like buildings with a total of three overhead doors. It wasn’t built fore the size of today’s fire engines, and it no longer has enough room to store the fire gear.
Plans call for the new station No. 2 to be built just north of the existing fire station No. 2 structures, which would remain in use until the new station opens. Construction on the planned fire station could begin in the fall of 2020, with bidding earlier that spring. Anticipated completion is summer 2021. Fire Station No. 1 will continue to be remain Sioux Center’s primary fire station. The city anticipates seeking grants, programs and other sources of funding to assist in the project.
“I think this is an appropriate timeline for this project,” said Councilman Jamie Van Ravenswaay after hearing the report.
The proposed design includes a display room to feature the department’s restored 1931 REO fire truck and other historic items. Some funds for the showcase area will come from Sioux Center Fire Department Association members, who want the station to have a positive aesthetic impact, Van Holland said.
Van Holland also shared the annual Sioux Center Fire Department report with the council, including that the 41-member volunteer department responded to 106 calls in the past year and put in 2,822 total training hours and 1,102 total call hours.
Mayor David Krahling said “having an all-volunteer department for a community this size is a tremendous benefit to the community.”
“They are well-equipped and great stewards of the equipment they’ve been given. This building is a nod to continue to do that,” Krahling said. “The whole community appreciates the heart and the way you serve the community.”
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Sioux Center