By Cornelius Frolik
The Dayton Daily News
VANDALIA, Ohio — September 2010 will likely make Vandalia’s history books.
Not only did the city host a popular and novel public art project, the city also unveiled its new $3 million fire station, a 17,800-square-foot facility at 8705 Peters Pike.
The new facility will become fire headquarters and will replace the 50-year-old fire station no. 1, located at 257 N. Dixie Drive.
The old station no. 1 will become fire station no. 3 and it will not be staffed, said fire Chief Chad Follick. The old facility will be used for storage and training purposes.
Follick said the new fire station is state of the art, energy efficient, spacious and is in the best location to serve the public.
The station’s modern offices, living space, kitchen, sleeping quarters and decontamination room will greatly improve the quality of life for firefighters, who for so long were forced to work in an outdated building, Follick said.
“When you are not working, that’s where you live,” he said. “They were stuck in an antiquated living experience.”
The station also has a generator that will keep the building operational in the event of a power outage.
Although City Council members were impressed with the building, they said more impressive is its potential to help Vandalia’s fire department work cooperatively with Butler Twp. to provide more efficient safety services.
The city’s and township’s mutual aid agreements allow the closest emergency crews to respond to a call for help or service. It does not matter from where the call originated or to what department the closest crews belong.
“And down the road, we’re going to look at joint occupation of firehouses,” Follick said. “We’re looking at joint training and joint purchasing.”
The city dedicated the new fire station earlier this week, but the facility will play host to a community open house between noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 3. The station becomes operational the next day.
Copyright 2010 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.