Elyria plans to run fire engine out of Broad Street station for first time in 20 years

The Elyria Fire Department is planning to run a fire crew out of its Broad Street fire station for the first time in roughly 20 years to better serve southeast Elyria, and as a possible alternative to building a brand new station. Elyria Safety Service Director Chris Pyanowski said Tuesday that the department would move forward with relocating Fire Engine Company No. 2 from its current home at Fire Station No. 1 on Cedar Street back into the Station No. 2 on Broad Street, where it had operated until the mid 2000s. Last year, after more than 19 years operating three fire engines and a ladder truck, Elyria fire revived its fourth engine company, Engine No. 2, to serve Elyria's rapidly growing southeast, which had been without a dedicated engine company. Pyanowski said that by moving the engine company to Broad Street and out of downtown Elyria, the company would be closer to the area of the city that it serves. "We are diligent on this because it could save us a minute to a minute and a half on our response time," Fire Chief Joe Vargo said. "It gets us closer to (state Route) 57 and would better service those newer homes off Chestnut Ridge, so this is something we are really pushing to do. … We know Station 2 ultimately is not in the best location, but it is still something better than we have now responding out of Broad Street. It will better serve those members of the community who, quite frankly, deserve a little better representation than we give them now, as far as response times are concerned." The Broad Street station now only houses offices for the chief, fire marshal and other department administrators, but Pyanowski said it could be adapted to provide quarters for the crew of the engine company. Vargo stressed that this transition probably would take at least three months, as Station No. 2 needs a new generator, modern fire alarm system and other upgrades before it could host an engine and crew. For years, city officials have discussed the possibility of building a new fire station on Elyria's southeast side, as call volumes there have risen dramatically over the last 10 years. Both Pyanowski and Vargo said that such a project was still under consideration, but that relocating to Station No. 2 could provide a much cheaper option while still improving service to a quarter of the city. The alternative plan would be to renovate the second floor of the Broad Street station, which was intended to house a crew but never finished. Pyanowski said that he and fire officials had met with an architect who had drafted a rough plan and estimated a cost of about $700,000 to completely finish the second floor. "When we last looked at a new station the estimates were around $3 million to $3.5 million, now that would probably be in excess of $4 million," Pyanowski said. "If finishing the Broad Street station were to only cost us about $700,000, that would be a very economical compromise to improving service, and I think it would be a good investment for the city." He added that if the city does make the investment, he wanted to ensure that it was a long term solution that would meet the needs of the community, and that the city would not end up still needing a new station in five years. The new use of the station was discussed at a meeting of Elyria's EMS Review Committee last week, a committee that was formed to consider whether the city should bring ambulance services in house with the fire department. The advisory committee has yet to make a recommendation on how the city should proceed, but at the meeting Pyanowski said that if Elyria did run its own ambulance service, a renovated Broad Street station could serve as a "hub" for those ambulances. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.