By Angela Cina
La Crosse Tribune
VIROQUA, Wis. — After a three-year process, the Viroqua Fire Department is getting closer to moving into a new station that will offer more functionality and safety for its members.
The 26,000-square-foot fire station was constructed on city-owned property located on Nelson Parkway, just north of the Wild West Days grounds. The process, which began in 2022, started with Keller, Inc. and the building concept and working through the grant process with Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s office. Baldwin’s office helped secure a $5.2 million USDA Community Facilities Grant.
Fire Chief Chad Buros said crews began moving dirt for the construction project at the end of July 2024. A groundbreaking ceremony was held June 26, 2024.
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Buros said there were no major delays during the construction. “There are always little things; Keller did a good job changing things up, so we didn’t lose time. A few times, rain showers slowed things down when we first moved dirt last fall. They shifted gears to do something else … the project never stopped.”
In an interview on Aug. 8, Buros said crews are now doing the finishing touches on such things as working on some of the electrical and plumbing, touching up paint and working on the parking lot. He said the parking lot work “is a big step” for the project.
In a week-and-a-half the department will move the breathing air compressor for firefighters’ air packs and the gear washer from the current station on East Broadway Street and reinstall them at the new station, Buros said.
Once such things as HVAC and the generator are set up and ready to go, Buros said there will be training over the next few weeks.
The fire chief said construction could possibly be wrapped up by the end of August, with a soft move-in possibly the first week of September. “We’d move the emergency operations first, including fire trucks and bunker gear.” The “office-type stuff,” he said, would be moved throughout September.
Buros said the expectation is for the new station to be 100% functional mid to late September; however, that depends on weather and call volumes. “That’s our timeline of hopes.”
Buros said the fire department doesn’t have to rush to move out of the current station. “That’s a good thing. We don’t want to rush.”
There’s a preliminary plan to have an open house the first of October. “We want the public to see what has happened,” Buros said. “Our house is their house.” He noted the event would have everybody who was involved with the project, including the city council, representatives from the three townships – Franklin, Jefferson and Viroqua – who partnered with the city, and representatives from Baldwin’s office.
The current Viroqua Fire Station, located at 702 E. Broadway St. , is about 12,000 square feet and was originally a beer distributor warehouse. The fire department moved there in the early to mid-1990s and up until about four years ago they shared the building with the Viroqua Police Department.
Buros said the city council is looking at “options and opportunities” for the current station and hasn’t made any decisions yet.
Buros said both the fire and EMS crews are excited about moving into the new fire station. “They are excited for the safety and more functionality.”
“It’s a new chapter,” he said. “They are looking forward to the future and what’s the next opportunity. The city is growing ... and there will be changes.”
He said decisions were made for the fire department to be ready for the changes. “They are looking forward to these opportunities and to be ready for them.”
Buros said having a new station is “a big jump,” as it’s the first building that was designed as a fire station to accommodate modern technology, larger equipment and include features to keep firefighters safe.
The current station was originally a beer distributor warehouse. “It was a great building, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t built as a fire station. This is truly designed as a fire station. The environment is clean, and the firefighters can stay healthy.”
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Prior to the East Broadway Steet location, the fire station was on West Jefferson Street , where Kelly’s Automotive Repair is now. “Back then there wasn’t the technology. You pulled up a truck and hung up your gear. We’ve got the technology now, knowledge and training and science. Basically, you needed a warm place to park the trucks. That’s not the case (now) there’s way more to it.”
There are about 36 members, Buros said, six of whom are emergency medical responders only. About 30 are firefighters, with half of them also trained to do emergency medical work. The department is still looking for more members.
The fire department also has five junior firefighters. “That’s cool,” Buros said. “A couple are close to 18 and can go through the process to be an active firefighter; I see some interest there.”
“I’ve been told a new station will draw people in,” he continued. “It’s a new life; a new beginning and (a new) environment and what the future holds.”
He said the department’s members have a “glow” about them as the construction project winds down.
It’s important with a volunteer fire department, Buro said, to do things for members to show they are worthwhile. “It’s a tough job and we ask a lot of them … It’s a huge ask of volunteers for this type of service. The facility and safety aspect keeps them longer.”
He said little things, such as not having to move trucks around to wash them and then having to use a squeegee on the floor due to a lack of drains is something that may not matter, but it does.
“There’s good excitement about the functionality,” Buros said. “No squeegeeing the floor, no worries about clipping mirrors while leaving or entering the equipment bay.”
He said the stress of not having to worry about small matters makes room for the real stress of going on calls.
The new station is 26,000 square feet, more than double the size of the current station. “We’re building not to replace for today, it’s to be prepared for 50, 60, 70 years.”
A larger building allows integrated Western Technical College training onsite. The bigger space also keeps partners training locally using the department’s training tower so they are familiar with the firefighters they’d work with on a fire scene and are familiar with the local equipment. “There’s a convenience to it,” Buros said.
Other departments such as zoning and building inspection will also be in the new station. “We made sure there was storage for plans and (space) for meeting with people.”
“We thought of all of this,” Buros said. “We did our best not to overbuild and not under build. We do not want to go back and say we need to add on if we didn’t plan appropriately. We concentrated on functionality. We wanted to spend money on function … and help members do their job. We wanted it to be nice and not go overboard.”
Buros said he and the planning committee – Mayor Justin Running , Assistant Chief Glen Martin and alderpersons Kristal Welter and John Tompson – toured other fire stations for ideas. “We toured stations that were really simple up to those like the Taj Mahal. We wanted to find a happy medium and make sure the money was spent wisely and on function.”
The new station includes such things as a special room for firefighters’ gear, washrooms, more space for equipment and trucks, a larger training room and kitchen, sleeping rooms and a welcome center.
The exterior features the department’s old logo hanging above two large arched windows that resemble the feel of historic fire station doors of the past.
The historic-looking windows and the brick on the exterior hint at what the public will find in the welcome center. The welcome center, which features a weathered-looking brick wall, will give the department the opportunity to display its first piece of equipment – a hose cart from the late 1880s (the department was formed in 1884), its 1947 American LaFrance fire truck and a hand pump, which would have three to four men on each side of it to pump water.
The hose cart has already been suspended from the ceiling. Buros said the rest of the equipment is in storage. Photographs, newspaper articles, old fire gear and other department-related history will also be displayed.
He said the welcome center is the station’s focal point and will be used to educate children and adults about fire safety, in addition to sharing the department’s history, and the history of fire and firefighting.
“The more I talk to the guys and gals on the department they feel it probably will be one of the most used rooms in the station as it will be used for fire education, which is a big part of our job.” Buros noted the more fire safety education is shared, there will be fewer emergencies.
Four bedrooms are included in the station, and each one is in memory of past chiefs and firefighters. Those memorialized are Chief D.H. Pulver, Chief Lloyd Ray, Firefighter Tommy Yahn and Capt. Myron Odegard.
Buros said two of the bedrooms will be set up immediately once the new station is in use. He said having sleeping quarters is a way to plan for the future. “There will come a day when we’ll have full-time firefighters.”
The larger training room includes new technology, which Buros said will make it easier for the department and its partners to have training and would allow the city to have its own emergency operations center if needed. The kitchen is just off the training room.
Buros said fire service in general is like family and the station is home. He said once a month members take turns cooking a meal and they all eat together.
“The full-time piece is the station is a home away from home,” he said. Buros said a kitchen makes the station feel like home when firefighters aren’t at home.
Buros said the current kitchen lacks space. The decision was made, he said, to have a “good, solid kitchen,” rather than a residential one. “It’s essentially a commercial kitchen.”
The department is very appreciative of the community’s support, Buros said, and the trust they have in the department. “In the 28 years I’ve been with the department I’ve always felt the support of us … You trust us and we trust you. It’s a team effort; they did their part, and we’ll continue to do ours.”
Keller, Inc. is the architect and construction manager for the project.
The approved budget for the project is $9,527,000. The funding sources are $3,337,000 from the city of Viroqua, $900,000 equally split between the towns of Viroqua, Franklin and Jefferson and $5,250,000 from the USDA grant via Congressional Directed Spending funds.
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