St. Paul Fire Department looks to build new station

ST. PAUL, Neb. (KSNB) - St. Paul Fire Department hosted an open house in hopes of getting the community to see their vision on a new fire station. The fire department is looking for residents to vote on a half cent sales tax in the November election that will be dedicated to building a new fire station.

The current station was built in 1966, and it was built to function for what was needed at the time. The department said it doesn’t serve well for the stations current needs. Additionally, the structure of the building is starting to unravel with cracks and broken pieces all around the building.

“Almost from the get go the station itself was undersized for the trucks that they had,” said Mike Becker, Fire Chief at St. Paul Fire Department. “I mean it fit about what they had. At the current time it’s 4,500 square feet and over the years, apparatus and equipment have gotten bigger.”

According to the department, the station and advances in fire and rescue equipment have outgrown the current location. There are also concerns about getting to a call in a reasonable time from their location.

“One of our biggest concerns is call numbers are going up as far as the fire department and the EMS site as far as ambulance calls,” Becker said. “We’re worried about, especially during the summer, we have kids running back and forth and going to the park, going to the pool. We have responders responding to the calls from their homes, businesses where they’re working.”

The proposed new fire station would be at the intersection of Fourth and Elm Streets.

Copyright 2022 KSNB. All rights reserved.