June 20--Abilene Fire Department is temporarily replacing Fire Station No. 4 with a mobile home as long-term plans are being discussed regarding the aging fire station while meeting the needs of the community.
With glass strewed about and water soaked into the baseboards, the station at 1909 West Stamford closed its doors last Thursday after a catastrophic hailstorm.
Fire officials discussed remodeling the 60-year-old station with a leaking roof and deteriorating ceilings just days before the hailstorm moved in and destroyed what was left of it.
Chief Ken Dozier said the foremost priority is getting a team to take care of the community around the old station.
"My hope is to have a fire crew back in this place by this weekend," he said. "That's awfully optimistic, I understand."
Variables of time and cost were factors in the decision, he said, but after evaluating housing in hotels or apartments, the order was put in for a mobile home. Dozier said that while cost was evaluated, nothing was more important as quickly getting a unit set up and properly housing the engine.
The mobile home was expected to be delivered and set up around noon on Thursday near the old hose testing pad behind Station 4.
Several issues must be addressed before the unit will be functional. The mobile home needs to be staked to the ground, a skirt must be put on it, stairs and steps must be added, utilities need to be set up and computers, phones and radios must be connected properly
The engine for the unit arrived from San Angelo on Thursday, to use in place of the damaged units in Abilene.
He said the latest a team should be in place will be early next week, ready to serve the community.
As for the fate of the station, he said no permanent decision has been made. He said there's a possibility that it'll have to be replaced, but the temporary mobile home will serve the team just as well in the meantime.
"We're calling this temporary living quarters, but at this point we don't even know what temporary means," he said. "It could be a month, or it could be many, many months."
Dozier said there is no cost estimate of damages at this point in time.
Copyright 2014 - Abilene Reporter-News, Texas
