Ainsworth fire department gets grant for construction on new fire hall

AINSWORTH — In just a few short months, Ainsworth plans to have a brand-new fire station for their firefighters.

Following continuous fundraising efforts, the fire department was given a $330,000 grant by the Washington County Riverboat Foundation in May, which has allowed the group to move forward with construction. The foundation, which began in 2006, is funded by the Riverside Casino and Golf Course. The fire department had previously struggled to obtain the grant, having been denied several times due to an inability to provide matching funds.

The Ainsworth Fire Department is a completely volunteer-based group comprised of 18 firefighters. The department provides services to areas in Washington County and Louisa County and responds to about 125 calls a year. Because the fire department is not owned by the city, it was solely responsible for raising funds for the new fire hall.

As of January this year, the department had raised $57,000, which has now grown to $112,000. Fire chief Waylon Schultz said the department held various fundraising events as well as reached out to local businesses for monetary and material donations.

'The foundation is really looking to see that the community is behind it and that we're serious about the project,' Schultz explained.

The project was initially slated to cost $500,000, however with cuts provided by the McCreedy-Ruth Construction, a company based in Riverside, as well as 'cutting bells and whistles,' the project's overall price has gone down to $463,000. The fire department will continue to fundraise to cover the rest of the costs.

Demolition for the new building will take place from Sept. 10 through Sept. 15, with hopes that a new fire hall will be erected in the two months following before the worst of winter hits Iowa. If the building is not completely finished, Schultz says they aim to be able to store their trucks inside a partially completed building during the winter. The new building will be 110 feet wide and 60 feet deep with two floors. The top floor will be dedicated to training new firefighters while the bottom floor will be used as office space for the department.

The initiative to build a new station began about four years ago as Ainsworth's old fire hall began to exhibit signs of wear and tear. The former building, which was built as a gas station in the 1970s, later purchased by the fire department in 1983, was being held up by wooden posts buried in the ground that had begun to rot. According to the fire department's website, because of the state of the poles, there is a 'risk of collapse with wind gusts and any snow load on the roof,' which makes 'the building very unsafe' and puts their 'equipment, firefighters and citizens at high risk when in the building especially during storm season.' Leaks through the old building's window and roof would cause the building to flood in seasons with heavy rain.

'The old building needed a lot of work, and it couldn't accommodate our trucks anymore,' Schultz said, 'It was posing safety issues.'

To learn more about the department or to donate to the construction of the new fire hall, visit: https://www.ainsworthfirestation.com/.