Fairfield voters approve new fire station

Fairfield voters approved a bond measure Tuesday to build a new fire station in town.

Of the 704 votes cast, three-quarters were a “yes” vote in favor of allowing the city to bond up to $5 million for a fire station that the city plans to build at the corner of West Briggs Avenue and North Fourth Street.

The yes votes totaled 529 (75.14 percent) and the no votes totaled 175 (24.86 percent).

Fairfield Fire Chief Scott Vaughan said he was humbled by the community’s support for the project. He said he is looking forward to the three-story training tower that will be built as part of the construction of a new fire station, which will give firefighters the chance to train for real life scenarios.

“We’re looking forward to having a safer building where we’re not spreading carcinogens around like we were before,” Vaughan said.

Vaughan was alluding to how the new station will separate the offices from the truck bays, changing areas and shower areas, which will have special ventilation. Vaughan has said the current building is not ideal because its sleeping quarters open to the truck bay, so firefighters are exposed to fumes and the contaminants brought back from a fire.

Vaughan said he is proud of all the work put into this project by Fairfield City Engineer Melanie Carlson and the members of the Fire Station Task Force who studied where to put the new station.

Fairfield City Administrator Aaron Kooiker said the city is thankful for the vote of confidence from the town’s residents.

“The new fire station will be a cornerstone for the future in public safety, service and economic growth within the community,” Kooiker said.

The city plans to demolish the existing buildings on West Briggs Avenue that previously belonged to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The new fire station will be more than twice as large as the existing station, which occupies 9,000 square feet of its 12,000-square-foot building. The new station will be 19,000 square feet, and have enough space to accommodate all the department’s vehicles, which cannot fit in the current station on North Second Street.