Medina sets tours for public to see fire hall on March 12, March 15

Village officials seek to upgrade facility, put on new addition

Photo by Tom Rivers: Medina Fire Department officials say the current fire hall is too small for a bigger ladder truck. Currently there is only two inches of clearance from the top of the truck to get in and out of the truck bays.

MEDINA – The Medina Fire Department is inviting the community to tour the fire hall on Park Avenue to see how cramped the department is for space.

The department and the Village Board are eyeing an expansion next door with bigger truck bays to fit in bigger fire trucks.

There will be tours of the fire hall on Sunday, March 12, from 11 a.m. to noon, and then again from noon to 1 p.m. And then there will be tours offered on Wednesday, March 15, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

“Due to the need for significant facility and equipment improvements and upgrades, the Village of Medina Fire Department is holding tours open to the public to make residents and business owners more aware of these conditions,” the department said in a news release. “Please choose one of the tours to see our deteriorating and outgrown apparatus bays as well as our aging and unsafe equipment.”

Firefighters and Village Board members will be present to answer questions. There is no need to sign up for a tour. “Just show up for the time that works best for you,” the department stated.

An engineering and design firm, Barton & Loguidice, has estimated an addition to te fire hall, plus repairs to the current building, would cost about $4.5 million.

The plan for the fire hall calls for an addition approximately 62 feet, 8 inches by 88 feet, 8 inches.

The addition would be on the current fire hall on the west side in an area that is currently a parking lot. That addition is needed to house a new ladder truck. That truck could be $1.5 million.

The village is looking to replace a ladder truck from 1996. That truck has a ladder that is 75 feet long. That truck barely has clearance in the garage. The ladder truck has a clearance of 10.4 feet but the space in the garage is 10 feet, 6 inches, Fire Chief Matt Jackson has said.

The new ladder trucks have a clearance of 13 feet. The design for the new hall addition would have bays that allow up to 14 feet.

With a new space for fire trucks, the ambulances could be moved to the current fire house. The space for the ambulances right now could be used for police cars or perhaps as a meeting area, Mayor Mike Sidari has said.

The Barton & Loguidice plan also calls for:

• A new public entry, radio room/office, laundry room, EMS room, restrooms, Decon room, gear room, mechanical room, tool room, and apparatus bay with the existing apparatus bay being repurposed to house the village ambulances.
• A mezzanine space will be located along the perimeter of the new apparatus bay with file storage and office space accessed from the existing building second floor hallway.
• A new air and vapor barrier membrane and new exterior cladding system will be installed over the existing concrete masonry unit wall construction of the existing fire station, and the existing overhead sectional doors will be relocated and replaced allowing for adequate clearances around the ambulance apparatus bay.
• The renewal of the building’s existing façade will result in creating a weather tight envelope while simultaneously allowing the cladding system of the addition to carry over creating a cohesive look to the updated facility.
• The existing concrete slab in the existing ambulance apparatus bay will be replaced, including the installation of new trench drainage and epoxy floor finish.
• The outdated emergency generator located south of the alley will be replaced and upgraded to accommodate the fire station and addition.