New Evansville fire station reenergizing department
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The training room in the Evansville Fire District's new building has room enough for the entire department to gather comfortably. A screen and video projection system is built-in.
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The volunteers for the Evansville Community Fire District recently moved into their new building on Water Street on the city’s east side.
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The spacious kitchen in the Evansville Fire District's new building is roomy and has lots of counter space. The major appliances were all donations.
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Although currently sparsely furnished, a trio of recliners facing a large screen TV does allow some relaxing space in the EFD's new dayroom. Donations and the firefighters themselves supplied the furnishings for this portion of the new building. No district money was used.
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The training room in the Evansville Fire District's new building has room enough for the entire department to gather comfortably. A screen and video projection system is built-in.
EVANSVILLE — Evansville Fire Chief Mike Halvensleben looked with pride over the six bays of the fire district's new station.
"This is the area I love the most," he said from a loft dubbed the "play area," complete with a donated foosball table. "We'll sit up here and look at the top of all our trucks."
Until a person is a member of a fire department, he or she really can't understand the excitement about the fire trucks, he said.
"It's a pretty nice sight to be sitting up here looking across everything," he said.
The new station on Water Street has reenergized the volunteer department after firefighters officially moved in Jan. 12.
"We're having no problem right now getting volunteers," he said. "In a community (size like ours), it's very surprising. There's a lot of communities that are having problems keeping volunteers."
He attributes some of that to the new building, where many firefighters are spending their free time.
"There's no question there that our response and our nightly activity here is way more than it ever has been at our old station," he said. "I hope it doesn't wear off for awhile, but it probably will."
The paid, on-call department is full—35 firefighters plus several others who recently applied, he said. The department averages 110 fire- or accident-related calls a year.
"My goal is to keep volunteers as long as we can," Halvensleben said.
But with added requirements and duties, the department might need a full-time person in a few years, he said. Halvensleben works full-time for Landmark, but the company let him spend a lot of time at the fire station during construction, he said.
The fire district includes Evansville, nearly all of Union Township and parts of Porter, Brooklyn and Magnolia townships. Each municipality pays a percentage based on assessed value, and the building is bonded over 20 years. The district also charges a $500 user fee for each call.
The new station is nearly three times the size of the old facility.
It features:
-- Showers and two sleeping rooms for future use.
-- A large meeting/training room. Grant money from the Department of Natural Resources helped pay for a projection system and TV in the room.
-- Three offices and one central command center.
-- A kitchen with lots of counter space and stainless steel appliances.
-- A "day room" with recliners and a donated 50-inch, flat-screen TV.
-- Six bays with heated floors for the department's seven vehicles. Three of them are drive-through bays.
A public open house is being planned for spring.
Finishing touches still are being added, but the building is at or slightly under the budget of $2.2 million to $2.3 million, Halvensleben said. That doesn't tell the whole story, though, because thousands of dollars worth of volunteer work and donated or discounted furniture, appliances and other items from businesses complete the building.
"Some of the extras we didn't plan are in here because of those people," Halvensleben said.
But he wants to clear up confusion about the 50-inch Viking grill on a stamped concrete patio out back. The firefighters bought the $2,000 grill with money they raised—not taxpayer money—so they could feed everyone at once at their monthly meetings, he said.
"People may call it a play area for firemen, but you know, it is—to get them to come down here and stay, spend the day here, to be ready to go. That's what we're after," he said.
And the relaxation features are there only because of donations or money firefighters raised.
"Some of the things extra we do have, the firemen do buy, but it's to keep them coming down," he said.
Jan 25, 2009 at 10:08 a.m.
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They paid nearly $100K for some swamp land for this place. Phil is laughing all the way to the bank on that!!!
The helicopter pad (like Brooklyn has) had to get nixed because it wouldn't be out of the floodplain.
Don't be suprised if there is an admission charge collected at the new F.D. open house. The F.D. charges $500 to make an "apperance" at your house that is non-negotiable (except if you are a "towner"). I expect them to do the same here. Cash or checks are accepted. No credit/debit cards.
Jan 24, 2009 at 12:43 p.m.
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Who do you think owned that land? This was more of a example of back scratching. Something Evansville is known for.
Jan 24, 2009 at 8:41 a.m.
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I don't care so much that a new station was built, but I thought another location might have been a better choice for land use. There was a 3.7 acre piece of property for sale (cheap) on the corner of Old 92 and S. Second St. This land had been used for a dumping grounds for many years and would have been a great use for the limited use property. I'm sure the city could have annexed the land and also bought up the old eyesore Andrew Transit building, giving them about 4 acres to work with. I am not fond of building a new station on an alfalfa field where I used to watch deer feeding. And to top it off, hauling lots and lots of sand fill to get it up to a flood safe grade. That was a nice piece of nature that the, do as I say not as I do city of Evansville ruined. They could have resurrected a junk piece of property and made it into the bell of the ball. Again, poor land use adding to the hundreds of acres of farmland the city of Evansville has removed from productive farmland. Nice work.
Jan 23, 2009 at 9:33 p.m.
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iamqueenb...... those rooms are used all the time for training, learning pump and hose calculations, Haz-mat operations, Staging techniques, RIT, training videos, etc. You should join a fire dept, you may be surprised fires are'nt put out with bucket brigades and horse drawn pumpers anymore.....figure out what the friction loss is on a 3 inch line, 100 ft long set at 100gpm?????
Jan 23, 2009 at 9:24 p.m.
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No, they've earned it!
Jan 23, 2009 at 8:21 p.m.
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I think all the people on here that dont understand why this is so special to the Fire Dept. should be allowed to ride along at 2 in the morning to a drunk driving wreck and pull limp, sometimes lifeless bodies out of a car split in two, or pick up a leg laying in the middle of a highway, only to find the victims child crying in the ditch. How about go to a fire where its someone you know dearly and they just lost EVERYTHING they have ever had. I was a firefighter for 7 years on a local dept., and some days I dont know how I made it through after a bad call, but coming back to a place that is like home is golden immediatly after a call. Not much matches the brotherhood of firefighting. To Evansville Fire Department......Congratulations.......you've all earned it. Its a beautiful station!
Jan 23, 2009 at 5:27 p.m.
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how does a fancy fire dept show we care about them? As long as its warm and everything is safe that is what should be important.
Seriously though, it may seem like a lot but if every one breaks it down, its pretty average. Its just new.
Evansville does spend a lot of money though. But this also sits in union.
This also will be there home for years, and years and years... look how long they were in city hall. or should I say the basement.
As far as my question about response time, its a legit , serious question.
I mean if they are staying there, should that not help their response time in some ways. I suppose not everyone will stay there.
I think one day you will see Evansville with a full time paid dept and then no one will think anything of it.
Jan 23, 2009 at 4:35 p.m.
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Wow, some of you people and your negative comments directed at fire fighters. Most of them are volunteers and deserve at least a little sense of people caring about them. You get your butt out of bed in the middle of the night during winter to put out a fire or handle some other call. Don't they deserve to have a decent facility to hang their hat in? These people in essence put their lives on the line for you people, even if you resent their facility. I think they deserve it, and I hope the community is behind them fully.
Jan 23, 2009 at 2:46 p.m.
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By the way I work in public service and I don't expect thank yous, they are nice but not required. My office is the size of a shoe box and my case load is huge, and quite often goes home with me. But it is my job and I do make a difference and is really all I need is to know I made a difference.
Jan 23, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.
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They seem to want a station like Madison, yet they are not. I wonder if there response times will be better. Some one tell me again what was wrong with the old one? Obviously nothing as the police dept is moving in.
Jan 23, 2009 at 2:05 p.m.
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It looks very nice. I think people maybe are looking twice as some of the things listed as Evansville likes to spend, and spend and spend. But it sounds like the items that were
' toys' were donated. This is not a full time station though, which makes it different from madison as one person referred to. It's not full time, and it should not be treated as a club house. Where when they have nothing better to or someone won't share the t.v. at home, or they want to get a way from the wife they go there. People appreciate them they just won't kiss their xxxx, as some think we should do. They choose to do it and would not if they did not like it.
Jan 23, 2009 at 1:06 p.m.
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Milton volunteer fire department has a weight room as well. It's a need. Hoses take some serious muscle to hold and aim under pressure. Let alone the strength and stamina to do the job in extreme heat to sub zero weather. It goes to show the thankless mentality people have about a firemen and women.
Jan 23, 2009 at 12:55 p.m.
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I guess some of you didn't really read the story, most of the items were donated, and you would find those items in a full time fire station too. My brother is a Madison Fire Fighter, and they have a weight room too. I figure that these people put their life on the line to help us, then they should have a new building to do it in. Evansville was not the only city the this help Brooklyn,Footville etc. But those of you that like to make dumb comments just remember that if we didn't have Fire Dept here your house would burn down by the time some other Department would get here.
Jan 23, 2009 at 12:30 p.m.
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Looks and sounds like a pretty expensive playhouse. Lucky for Evansville residents they get to pay for a $2 million dollar rec center for the guys that don't want to spend time at home.
Jan 23, 2009 at 12:09 p.m.
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That only happens when they have their Christmas Party!
Jan 23, 2009 at 12:04 p.m.
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sounds like a good place to live when your house burns to the ground.
Jan 23, 2009 at 10:51 a.m.
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As long as they are willing to get out of bed in the middle of the night when it's below freezing to come to the aid of my family and friends, I certainly won't begrudge them a few "fringe benefits"! Congratulations to the EFD!
Jan 23, 2009 at 9:38 a.m.
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Wow! Nice new digs Evansville! I'll be looking forward to the open house.
Jan 23, 2009 at 9:21 a.m.
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Sounds like the "Boys Club" with their brand new club house to me. I wonder if that will be able to pull themselves away from the TV, Grill, Fooseball table, and recliners when the fire whistle goes off! Does look nice though.
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