New South Bend IN Station's Improvements a 'Gift' to Firefighters

SOUTH BEND, IN—A new fire station opened Monday on the city’s east side that not only will better serve the community, but will also better the lives of the firefighters stationed there.

Fire Station 9, located at 2108 Mishawaka Ave. in the River Park Neighborhood, replaces a much smaller station built in 1926. The larger building now houses not only fire engine 9, but a new ambulance and boat for river rescues that the old station did not have. The station will be staffed by five to six people at a time.

The station was also built with the health of its personnel in mind. It was designed with a “zone” concept, which keeps toxins related to fighting fires that might be brought back on gear separated from the living quarters of the station.

“There are too many firefighters in the country that are getting cancer,” Fire Chief Steve Cox said. “We want to be on the forefront as a department to be able to mitigate that. It’s important to be able to decontaminate, and decontaminate properly.”

Seeing those improvements meant a lot to Rosary Comeau. Her husband, South Bend firefighter Joshua Comeau, died in January after a four-year battle with brain cancer. The improvements are a “gift,” she said, to not only the firefighters, but their families as well.

“It is such a gift to know it’s not in vain,” she said of her husband’s death. “That changes are being made and education is happening and lives are being saved so that other families don’t have to go through what we had to.”

Fire Station 9 is also the second South Bend fire station to be LEED certified. Meeting that goal not only makes the building more sustainable — it’s equipped with solar panels to help power it — but the improvements like more natural light make it a more comfortable living space.

“These are the things we have done to help make our firefighters’ lives better,” Cox said.

But getting to this day was a long process that involved many public meetings and some opposition at the beginning. The original proposal was to build the station across the street, next to the Potawatomi Conservatories.

Some people started questioning it, said Dan Kane, who’s involved in the River Park Neighborhood Association. But according to Kane and Pam Claeys, another outspoken member of the community, neighbors are happy with the chosen location.

“They listened,” Claeys said of officials’ decision not to build the station by the park. “It’s huge.”

The two said they appreciated how diligently Chief Cox worked to find a location the community supported. And with the improvements and added personnel, they said, the community is excited to be better served by the fire department.

“It’s a win-win. It’s the perfect answer,” Claeys said. “It’s the perfect spot.”

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