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vfs_120The Village of Lansing Planning Board Monday approved a special permit to construct a new fire station on Oakcrest Road.  The 6,300 square foot fire station is planned for the same property where the old Village fire station was located before it was demolished earlier this year.  Originally built in 1972, the building had deteriorated to the point where Fire Commissioners determined it was not worth repairing the building, and service bays were too small to accomodate large modern fire trucks.

"The old station wasn't big enough to house the units that we needed," Walters says.  "We couldn't house the trucks that we needed there. This will give us more room to fit the vehicles that are needed to answer the calls in the Village, with a new look that we hope will draw people to bunk there."

The new station will include four bays.  Fire Commissioner Jeff Walters says three of the bays will likely be filled with a ladder truck and a fire engine plus a duty-chief EMS vehicle, with the fourth bay available for future expansion.  The station will also have five bunk rooms.  Bunk rooms were a major element in the Central Station addition as well.  Commissioners say they want to increase their bunker program to help recruit volunteers.

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The old station was too small to house modern fire equipment.  Emergency calls in the Village were largely answered by volunteers at Central Station in part because more volunteers live and work in that area, and in part because it is the nearest station that could house the big trucks.  That relegated old Village station to not much more than a parking space for Bangs Ambulance vehicles.

Walters says that he hopes housing volunteers in the new station will mean shorter response times to emergencies in the Village.  Well over 50% of Lansing's 911 calls come from the Village with its three malls and many apartment complexes.

Walters says that with the poor economy bunk rooms may attract a variety of new volunteer emergency responders, not just the college students they would typically attract.  He says finding new volunteers is difficult, especially in the Village.

"With all the apartments there is a lot of turnover in the Village, so we don't get a lot of people who want to join," Walters says.  "With bunkers we could handle calls down here.  In these times we see all different (kinds of people drawn to emergency responder volunteer bunking programs).  It could be students, but we also have requests from single people who have a job, but are looking for a cheaper way to live."

vfs_planThe ground plan shows four service bays and five bunk rooms in the proposed fire station

Bids went out early this week.  Walters says the projected cost is about $750,000 for a pole-barn style building.  he notes that amount is higher because of laws requiring municipal building projects to use a variety of contractors, but he says that the fire district has the money saved, so no additional taxes are anticipated to fund the project.

"We have the money set aside," Walters says.  "The tax base won't change for the taxpayers, the same as it was for the addition on Central Station.  We have more than that set aside if we need it, but with the economy and people looking for work that's about where we're hoping the bids come in."

After approving an environmental review the Planning Board approved a special permit to construct the new fire station.

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