USU and area east being considered for fire station
All available locations are being considered for a new fire station in the area east of Utah State University, including sites on university property, said Logan City Fire Chief Jeff Peterson.
“We haven’t selected a site, and we don’t want to disclose the sites being considered,” Peterson said.
The station will be built using a $920,000 federal grant, in the area around Hillcrest Elementary School and the Student Living Center, Peterson said.
New regulations requiring a response time within four minutes is a primary reason for the location of the new station, Peterson said. Other reasons include the lack of space in the current station, he said.
“We’re maxed out at this station. We don’t have enough room for equipment or more bunks. We have to grow with the city. It is a necessary portion of that growth,” Peterson said.
Darrell Hart, university assistant vice president for Facilities, said city officials spoke with the university officials about the possibility of building the new station on university property.
“Right now, it is nothing more than discussion. We’d like to have one by campus and we have offered a couple of locations,” Hart said.
The northeast corner of the Student Living Center was offered by the university, Hart said, but local residents opposed the plan and the city dropped that location. Peterson said the location at the cemetery was also discussed but dropped by the city due to community complaints. No other specific location was disclosed by Hart or Peterson. But both said the new fire station would be located on the east side of campus or in a surrounding neighborhood.
“It is not prudent to have some discussion until we have something that makes sense,” Hart said.
Final approval of the location will be made by Logan Mayor Doug Thompson and President Kermit L. Hall if the location is on university property, Peterson said. Hart said other members of the administration, including the board of trustees, would be included in making the decision if the selected site is on university property. Once a location has been selected, Hart said everyone will know about it.
Peterson said he hopes the site is selected by this spring and construction’s started sometime this summer. Once the site has been selected, construction of the station will progress rapidly, Peterson said.