New Vermilion fire station reaches halfway point

VERMILION — Construction of Vermilion's new fire station has reached its halfway point. On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Jim Forthofer, Fire Chief Chris Stempowski, several volunteer firefighters and others celebrated the continued work on the city's first new municipal building in 40 years. "This building is in a real sense an investment in ourselves," Forthofer said. "It invests in what's good about this town and helps our volunteer firefighters keep us safe. When we convene again, it will be at the dedication of this facility and we will have done something that we should be proud of for future generations of Vermilionites." The new Fire House No. 1 at the corner of Douglas Street and Devon Drive will house part of the roughly 34 volunteer firefighters for the city in a new 16,000-square-foot facility. Members of the department signed a steel beam making up part of the framework for the apparatus room that will house four of the city's firetrucks along with other equipment. Stempowski said the department is really looking forward to opening day, set to be sometime in December. "It's exactly what we envisioned," he said, walking through the empty shell of what will eventually be a large training room. Forthofer said the department determined the need for the building, and its placement to best serve the city's west side. The $4 million project is being paid out of the city's fire capital improvement fund and will replace the current Firehouse 1 off Ohio Street. Built in 1954, Firehouse 1 has two dead-end bays with low ceilings, making it difficult to work in, a news release from the city explained. Marker Construction out of Columbus was chosen for the project in 2018, and work started in April. "The volunteers who are going to be occupying this building really represent the best of Vermilion," Forthofer said. "Volunteerism is what Vermilion's all about. So much of what is good and beautiful about Vermilion was done by volunteers. So many of the beautiful flowers we see downtown, the maintenance of things, the cleaning, the service organizations who raise funds for operations, they're all volunteers. What we're celebrating today are our first-responder volunteers who make sure that the people of the city of Vermilion are safe." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.