By Olivia Johnson
Daily Record
Most Cañon City residents have probably spotted the shining, new fire station on East Main Street. The station, which now serves as the district’s headquarters, is chock-full of vital equipment for modern firefighting.
However, Station No. 1, located on Harding Avenue and 15th Street, and Station No. 2, situated on Elm Avenue, have recently caught up on modern architecture and equipment with the completion of large-scale renovations.
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“We’re aiming for functionality and long-term durability,” Fire Chief David DelVecchio said. “And we want to improve the lives of firefighters.”
The $2.2 million project officially began in late 2024 when the crew began sorting through many years of equipment and other storage accumulation. The project followed quickly on the heels of Station No. 1, which was commissioned and finished in 2023.
After organizing equipment and other items, the crew officially moved into a heated and cooled trailer on the west side of the property while demolition began in the interior. Though the quarters were a bit tight for the five-man crew on any given shift, the benefits of the remodel gave them something to look forward to.
Like many firehouses built in the 1980s, Station No. 1 previously boasted a communal living space with a large open-air room. According to DelVecchio, the situation caused disrupted sleep and also introduced issues with mixed-gender firefighting situations.
The remodel, which is largely completed, features five new bunk areas where firefighters can sleep two to a room and also introduced several new bathrooms for firefighters, including an ADA -compliant room, for the public.
Concurrently, the remodel will also serve a larger crew, if and when the needs arise. Currently, the district boasts 16-man shifts with five of them usually at Station No. 1. With the growth of Canon City , district leaders foresee a possible need for more firefighters in the future.
Similar to Station No. 3, Station No. 1 now boasts a fully functional security vestibule, where guests and community members can check in at the front and wait in a secure foyer.
In addition to the numerous cosmetic and structural upgrades, the building also received new electricity and plumbing, along with a new HVAC system, which provides central air in place of swamp cooling. Spray insulation was also added to the ceiling, which keeps the heat or the cold out, depending on the season.
“It’s a lot nicer, especially in the really warm summer months,” DelVecchio said. “With the swamp coolers, it was always sticky humid … now, firefighters can come back from a fire and cool down.”
DelVecchio also noted that the living area features a pressurized air component that will push any nascent diesel fumes in the bay away from the firefighters in their living quarters.
A full fire alarm and fire suppression system were also installed.
One of the newest gadgets at both stations includes the installation of a new station alerting system called First In Station Alerting. Tied directly into Fremont County Dispatch and the other two stations, the alerting system provides a streamlined way for firefighters to not only be alerted to a call but also all of its details.
Gone are the days when call information would come in via “run sheets” from dispatch.
“You’d come by the printer, rip off the paper as it came out, but this system actually sends a digital voice, explaining the situation,” DelVecchio said. “It takes out the confusion from any situation.”
He went on to note that, should the district swell in number of firefighters in the coming years, the system can also be utilized to notify particular units of firefighters at particular times. Rather than waking up the entire station for a call, it can be used to notify particular rooms of the need for action.
Though the renovations at Station No. 1 were supposed to be completed last summer, the project remains unfinished, with skylights still needing to be installed. However, Station No. 2, which has many of the same renovations and upgrades as Station 1, has already wrapped up its renovation.
The renovations at Stations No. 1 and No. 2 are the last large-scale projects that DelVecchio will oversee, as he will officially retire as Fire Chief on July 1 .
However, he’s happy to have seen both the building and completion of Station No. 3 and renovations at Stations. No. 1 and No. 2 through to the end.
“I’m glad that they’re almost done,” he said.
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