While picuresque, at least two Battle Creek firehouses are no longer suitable,
That's why there are plans to build a new station near where the current one is on Washington Avenue, WOOD8 reported.
Fire Chief Bill Beaty said two stations were built in the early 1900s. They are not big enough for the new apparatus.
“A lot of people consider these municipal buildings but they’re also homes for our firefighters. So, the dynamics, the technology, theories behind firefighter safety and health have changed as well as the dynamics of the community and our incident response and all those things. Firefighter safety and health is a big issue and that’s a priority for us. We believe that the city is now in the best position to be able to take this on and do these projects,” he said.
Part of the proposal includes updates to all stations in the city at an estimated cost of $20 million to $25 million, which the city would issue a general obligation bond for.
Several public hearings are planned.
