Posts Tagged new fire station for Pingree Grove FPD

New fire station for Pingree Grove FPD

Excerpts from theChicagoTribune.com:

On Saturday, residents joined firefighters from the Pingree Grove and Countryside Fire Protection District at an open house to celebrate its new, state-of-the-art facility at 1600 Reinking Road. The 12,700-square-foot fire station cost $3.7 million. It has a lobby that is open 24 hours a day; a community room that can be reserved by residents and non-profit organizations; a decontamination space; a house tower; a fitness facility; a kitchen; a rec room; and sleeping quarters.

“We wanted to let the community know that we are here,” said Lieutenant Scott Fehrman, a 33-year veteran of the district.

The Pingree Grove and Countryside Fire Protection District services unincorporated Kane County, an area less than 50 square miles that includes: Plato Township and parts of Rutland, Campton and Elgin Townships, Fehrman said. The new station will replace Fire House #2 at Route 20 and Reinking Road, an outdated, more than half a century’s old facility that only held vehicles. Originally run by volunteer firefighters, it didn’t have a kitchen or place to sleep.

It became even more evident a new station was needed when call volume began to increase with the 2005 opening of the Cambridge Lakes Subdivision and, two years later, Carillon, a gated retirement community, Fehrman said.

About 10 years ago, the fire district began setting aside money each year for the new facility, Trustee Todd Harris said, noting that it’s fully paid for now.

Fire Station #3 will offer residents CPR classes, free blood pressure screenings, and, for citizens with medical conditions or the inability to reach the front door quickly, the Knox Box Rapid Entry System, Fehrman said. Attached to homes, the secure black boxes contain house keys and medical information, and allow firefighters to gain entrance into residences quickly, without damaging property. The boxes can only be accessed by firefighters with a master key.

Looking back on the district’s history, Harris said that in 1936, the area was served by a volunteer fire department. Firefighters received calls at home and stopped by the station for equipment, taking from 8 to 15 minutes to arrive at the scene. He said the Pingree Grove and Countryside Fire Protection District wasn’t founded until 1957, with ambulance service added in 1975. Today, the district operates two fire stations — the new one and an existing location at Plank Road and Route 20 — each staffed with three firefighter EMTs, Fehrman said. Unlike the old days, he said firefighters can arrive at the scene within minutes.

thanks Dan

Tags: , ,

As seen around … Pingree Grove

This from John Tulipano:

Pingree Grove FPD new station 3 being built on Reinking Road just north of Route 72

 

fire station construction

John Tulipano photo

fire station construction

John Tulipano photo

fire station construction

John Tulipano photo

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Pingree Grove FPD looking at new station

The Daily Herald has an article about the Pinegre Grove FPD in MABAS Division 2, is working towards building a new fire station:

The Pingree Grove and Countryside Fire Protection District is moving forward with plans to build a new fire station for its 50-square-mile coverage area.

The new station would be on 3.1 acres west of Reinking Road just north of Route 72 in the Cambridge Lakes North subdivision, Fire Chief Mitchell Crocetti said. The village board approved a resolution this week to donate just less than 1.5 acres to the fire district, which will purchase the rest from the Cambridge Lakes developer.

The fire district has about $2.7 million set aside for the $3 million project, and will budget another $500,000 next year, Crocetti said. Its annual budget is $2.5 million. Crocetti said he hopes to break ground in March and occupy the new station in the fall or 2013.

The district covers Pingree Grove plus 23 unincorporated subdivisions like Udina, Plato Center and Starks; it employees seven full-time firefighters, including the chief, and more than 40 on-call firefighters, Crocetti said.

The new station will have living quarters — now located in a trailer — and space for up to six vehicles with entrances on both sides, Crocetti said. There will be also plenty of room to expand. “We’re building it not just for today, we’re building for 30 years from now,” he said.

The district plans to sell its downtown fire station when the move is complete. Past village board members discussed buying the building as part of its long-range Heritage District master plan, but the current village board hasn’t tackled the topic, Village President Greg Marston said. “At this moment I can’t envision purchasing the property, but that is an opinion without information,” he said.

The entire article can be found HERE.

Tags: ,