Wed Feb 22 2012
by Laura Freeman | Reporter
Boston Heights -- Residents will see a new $410,000, 2,600-square-foot addition to the fire station in 2012 which will allow the village to house its own ambulance to transport EMS patients.
The mayor, Council members, the fire chief and members of the project team Sept. 27 broke ground in a hard hat, gold shovel ceremony for the new addition, expected to take four months to build.
The addition will add 1,300 square feet of office space and 1,300 square feet for apparatus storage, according to Hummel Construction Project Manager Scott Mashchak.
It will be paid for by funds from a 2009 0.5-mill five-year levy for fire department capital, maintenance and gear, said Village Fire Chief James Robinson.
The existing fire station was built in 1969 and can hold six trucks -- two engines, a tanker, an urban fire unit, a car and a van for EMS, according to Robinson.
"They thought they would never outgrow it," he said.
The expanded station will hold two bays, offices and restrooms.
The expansion will allow the fire department to add an ambulance to its fleet, according to Boston Heights Mayor Bill Goncy.
"We are first responders now, but we'll have our own ambulance unit to transport patients instead of relying on Macedonia," Goncy said.
Although the village has trained personnel and equipment for EMS, it does not presently have an ambulance, Robinson said.
"We get a call, go to the scene but contract with Macedonia, who co-responds and transports the patient to a hospital," Robinson said. "This addition with allow us to have our own squad, and one of the bays will be for an ambulance."
The Boston Heights Fire Department is a volunteer force, except for two part-time workers who cover the weekends, Robinson said. The average response time it two minutes.
A three-year, 0.75-mill operating levy pays for the part-time staffing, Robinson said. The levy generates approximately $70,000 per year. It is up for renewal for another three years in November.
The volunteers train in-house and at the Cleveland Clinic, Robinson said. Dr. Donald Spanner is the medical director for EMS calls.
The village averages 30 fires per year, with 160 to 170 EMS and fire calls per year, he added.
Norma McFall, widow of former Mayor Raymond McFall, said the fire station addition was a goal of his.
"He did the paperwork six years ago," said Norma McFall, who attended the groundbreaking. "It feels so good to have Ray's dream come true."
Email: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150
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