For 10 months, Utah firefighters and their gear will be calling a temporary, heavy-duty tent home while their usual fire station is rebuilt.
Provo Fire & Rescue's unusual accommodations have been set up in a north city neighborhood and will include apparatus space with its own exhaust system, as well as a living area in a nearby trailer, KUTV-TV reports. In fact, firefighters already have coined a catchy portmanteau for their new digs.
"We have lovingly referred to this as 'glamping' — glamorized camping," Chief Jim Miguel told the TV station.
Conditions at Provo's Fire Station 22 forced the move to temporary quarters. Flooding, mold and structural issues have plagued the station, and $70 million in bond money was approved to rebuild the facility, as well as constructing a new city municipal center that will include another fire station.
“This is kind of the first step in giving the citizens of Provo what they have committed to in terms of the bond with our new facilities. We are really excited about that,” Miguel told KUTV, adding that both stations will include improvements, such as being built to earthquake standards.
Construction on Station 22 is set to be finished by May 2020. And what will happen to the firefighters' "glamping" site after that? The tent is built to last two decades, and eventually will be moved to one of the city's public works sites, KUTV added.
