The City of Maplewood may soon close one of its three fire stations.
The suburb of 40,000 residents in Ramsey County has moved toward full-time professional staffing for its fire department and is adjusting its resources. Where it once had five fire stations and relied on part-time firefighters, Maplewood could soon move to two fire stations with its full-time staff.
“This model will provide the same reliability,” Emergency Medical Services Chief Michael Mondor said.
Maplewood currently runs three stations spread throughout the city. There is the North Station at 1530 E. County Road C, Central Station at 1955 N. Clarence St., and South Station at 600 N. McKnight Road.
Recent studies suggest the city would close the Central location, keep the South operating as is and expand the North site. Work on the North Station would cost about $10.7 million, according to projections released earlier this week to the city council.
What is the advantage?
With 30 full-time firefighters and EMS professionals, it will be easier to meet staffing levels needed to operate the equipment at two stations than if they were spread out among three, officials say.
With calls for help increasing 10 percent last year, the two-station alignment will allow Maplewood to better staff its resources to handle the increased demand, Mondor said.
“The current layout of stations was inefficient,” Mondor said.
The move will also save money in the long run. By building a new North Station, the city expects to save $3.5 million in maintenance costs over the next 15 years, as well as about $40,000 in annual operating costs.
Mayor Marylee Abrams supports the change. “We want to deliver emergency services in the most efficient way we can,” Abrams said.
Little negative impact foreseen
By going to two stations, Maplewood would be able to respond to 96.4 percent of its emergency calls within 8 minutes, the standard set by the city. Continuing to operate three stations only increases that number to 96.8 percent, according to a realignment plan outlined by Mondor and Fire Chief Steve Lukin.
Earlier this month, St. Paul said it is ending a five-year automatic aid agreement with neighboring Ramsey County fire departments. The move has no impact on the decision to consolidate resources in Maplewood, Mondor said. “This plan has been well in place before any external factors.”
What will happen at North station?
The current North Station is nearly 50 years old and is in need of extensive repairs, Maplewood officials have said.
The replacement station would feature modern amenities, be more environmentally friendly and be designed with the well-being of firefighters in mind, Mondor said. An example is a space dedicated for gear storage that would not be exposed to diesel exhaust and direct sunlight, which can degrade the gear.
“This plan has been thoroughly researched,” he said. “It wasn’t something we dreamt up last night. It’s been a several-year process.”
What happens next?
The Maplewood City Council is expected to hire an architect for the new North Station in March or April. From there, Mondor said, he expects the timeline of the construction to become more clear.
As of now, the earliest the new station would be operational is in late 2021. At that point, the Central Station would close.
“There’s still work to be done,” Mondor said. “We will continue to work with community partners for Maplewood to have the emergency coverage it needs.”
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