Lorain Fire set to move into new west side station

LORAIN — Firefighters are set to move into the city's new west side station Friday. Station No. 7, now on the corner of West Erie Avenue and Kolbe Road, replaces the department's almost 20-year home on West Park Drive. Mercy Health Lorain donated the land off Kolbe Road to the city, and the construction itself cost roughly $1.2 million, Chief Chis Radman estimated Tuesday afternoon. The cost for the new west and east side stations were paid for using a previously passed $1.5 million bond passed in 2016 and carryover from fire levy funds. The department's former residence will have its roof replaced and become home to the city's Water Distribution Department — which has worked out of temporary trailers for years. The new fire station boasts private sleeping quarters for the station's four firefighters, unisex bathrooms, a new weight room, large apparatus floor and pull-through garage with an exit out onto West Erie Avenue. Once everything is moved over, it will house an engine, a reserve pumper and the mechanic's truck. The new station will not be without pieces of the old. Radman pointed to the fire pole in the mezzanine of the garage, moved from the old station — along with much of the weight room and other equipment. A retired firefighter is working with the union to make a custom kitchen table with the station logo for the space. Everything is moving on schedule, Radman said, except for planting the grass out front. Other than the new concrete drive may be a bit muddy due to inclement weather, the station itself was not delayed due to COVID-19 back orders or other hiccups. The new station will allow the department to better serve the ever-expanding developments on the west side, along with mutual aid calls from Amherst. It will not impact the response times for fire calls elsewhere in the city including the east side, he said. With new stations on the east and west sides, the city is hoping to use CARES funding to replace failing sinks, showers and toilets in the central and south side stations, Radman said. This story was corrected to reflect the fire levy passed in 2016, not 2017. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.