City of Mishawaka breaks ground on new Fire Station 2

 

MISHAWAKA, Ind.-- The City of Mishawaka is officially breaking ground on a new fire station that will replace the current station two near the intersection of McKinley and Main. 

The new location is just down the road on McKinley, in the field right in front of Liberty School. The city bought that plot of land from Mishawaka Schools for one dollar. 

Fire Chief Bryon Woodward said with the mental stress of a career in the fire service, providing a space to feel comfortable and rest while on standby is essential.

“It’s our home. So, it has to be a space that you feel comfortable just like you do at home,” Woodward said. “So, they need a place they can go back to that’s going to feel like home. It’s a fire station in name, to us it’s a house.” 

This home for firefighters will have a separate space for men and women. 

“In fact, we have a full-time women-only ambulance crew, for the first time in city history,” Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood said. “Well, the problem with that is we can’t house them... Because we don’t have the quarters for that.” 

Now, female firefighters will have all the same amenities as men in the new station. Woodward said living quarters will be actual bedrooms, not just bunk beds. 

The modern facility will be set up to reduce PFAS exposure to the firefighters, who face a higher risk of developing cancer in their career. 

“It will be a home to them that provides a barrier where they can leave the firefighting smoke and chemicals behind and enter into their living space,” Wood said.   

“The whole thing is to reduce the exposure,” Woodward said. “We’ll never get rid of all the bad things we’re going to be around, that’s the inherent risk of the job. The goal is to reduce, as much as we can, the exposure to it.”

The new facility couldn't come at a better time, as the number of emergency calls coming in is breaking records in the city.   

“They did about 13 runs a day, average, out of that building last year,” Woodward said. “Right now, they’re on pace for about 19 calls a day.”

So having a space to unwind while on standby is more important than ever. 

“We talk about new trucks, new stations, all that stuff is bells and whistles,” Woodward said. “The most important asset we have, the most important thing we have as a fire service, as an EMS service, is our people and it’s for our community. They deserve it, they expect it, and they should have it.” 

The station will include a baby box, plus an educational space known as “Survive Alive.”

It could open as early as September of 2024.