In October of last year, the Wheeling Fire Department moved into their new headquarters Station 24 at 499 S. Milwaukee Avenue, vacating what once was the public safety building and village hall on Dundee Road. When the village opened a new village hall earlier in the year, the police department began the first phase of renovating the entire building to accommodate an enlarged and updated police headquarters. The second phase was to incorporate moving into what was the fire department headquarters, living space, and apparatus bays. As part of the master plan, Wheeling was to build a third fire station somewhere on the northwest side of town to accommodate moving the headquarters station further east. Caught by the economic downturn, Wheeling had to scrap plans for the third station and seek out an alternative arrangement that would continue to let them offer the level of coverage that residents and businesses had come to expect.
The compromise was to incorporate a sub-station within the new police headquarters occupying one of the former apparatus bays and altering the living space for a minimal staff of firefighters. The assignment of an engine company in the Dundee Road facility is expected to occur at 0700 on the 1st of February, as the construction is nearing a point of completion. Station 42, as it will be known within RED Center, will house an ALS engine company. The headquarters Station 24 houses the battalion chief, an ambulance, and a truck company which is able to staff an additional ambulance or the squad as the situation requires. A backup engine and second ambulance are also at Station 24.
