Fire station to be built next year
If all goes as planned, Logan and Utah State University will have an additional fire station sometime in the next year or so.
Logan City Fire Chief Jeff Peterson said a survey done a few years ago showed the need for another fire station in the city.
“We have a federal grant for the cost of the fire station,” Peterson said.
Kevin Hansen, the city’s Public Works director, said the grant was initially set for $1 million, but has since been reduced to $925,000 with the budget cuts in Congress over the past year.
Plans are still underway, though a definite site has not been confirmed. There is heavy speculation about the station going in near the trailer court on campus. The city has narrowed it down to 1100 N. 1250 East on the south side of the street.
“The university proposed this site over the other ones,” Hansen said. “It will help benefit both the university and the citizens being in that area.
“The northeast side of the city has the worst response time with fires. It also has the highest population density per square foot,” he said.
President Kermit L. Hall said although the trailer court residents are probably not too happy about the idea, the trailers would be going soon anyway.
“Somebody will find a downside to all of this,” Hall said.
Trailer court residents had mixed opinions.
“I want it,” resident Trisha Taylor said. “There are so many houses here and so many people. I’m fine with the noise, if I felt safe.”
Taylor said her trailer could burn down in 10 minutes without immediate attention.
Katie Richins, a three-year resident in the trailer court, thinks it’s a bad idea.
“It would wake up all of our kids,” Richins said. “This is a residential area with a lot of people.”
Resident Dave Schramm, a graduate student in family and human development, said, “It’s probably not a good idea. It’s too close to student housing.”
President Kermit L. Hall said, “We think that the site that has been identified does several things for us.”
The trailer court site will help fire rescue and suppression on the hill, along with helping neighborhoods with fire insurance rights, he said.
Peterson judged that the earliest time possible for a ground breaking would be sometime next spring.
“That would put completion sometime next fall,” he said.
Hansen said construction would probably take between nine and 12 months. Either way, the earliest completion date will be late in 2003.
Steve Jenson, director of Housing and Food Services thinks it is a good idea.
“We feel like it’s a good thing to have increased fire protection on campus,” Jenson said.
There is a commitment from Logan City that the lights and sirens won’t be used except in extreme situations, he said.
“Hopefully, this will protect lives,” Jenson said.
Peterson said after the new fire station is put in, some of the staff from the existing fire station will move to the new station. There are also three new positions open that will be filled before next fall.
Hansen said the new fire station will be slightly smaller than the current one. It will be a satellite station, permanently manned with six rooms for staff members on duty at all times.
USU has also been making changes to its campus in respect to fire safety.
Peterson said the sidewalks on campus that have been widened will allow fire truck access.
With the narrowness of the sidewalks before, no fire truck would have been able to make it to those buildings not adjacent to a public road.
Hall said the university doesn’t want to have a fire sometime in the future and have no access to equipment, causing everyone to learn the hard way.
Hansen said, “I can’t express enough my compliments to President Hall, the vice president, and the Facilities department at USU for working with us.”
He added that he is very grateful for their support in trying to do the best thing for the residents of Logan, along with the university students.
“We’re anxious to get this underway,” Hansen said. “It will provide a better service for citizens everywhere.”
-emilieholmes@cc.usu.edu