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Due to water damage, the Bloomington fire station is beginning repairs

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Bloomington, Indiana – Construction to renovate Fire Station 1 at 300 E 4th St. and repair flood damage from June 2021 began on December 1.

According to a City of Bloomington news release, the project is financed by the Economic Development Local Income Tax Bonds that the Bloomington City Council passed in the 2024 budget. By October 2024, construction is expected to be finished for $4.5 million.

“We appreciate our professional, resilient, and innovative Fire Department personnel who have kept our city safe for more than two years from a temporary headquarters,” Mayor John Hamilton said in the news release. “We look forward to welcoming them back to an updated and improved downtown home.”

According to Fire Chief Jason Moore, the main distinction between the new and old stations is that the former will feature shared sleeping quarters and a locker room, while the latter will feature private dorm rooms, bathrooms, and shower facilities. The rebuilt station will feature a sprinkler system even though it will no longer have a basement.

“Realistically, it is going to be a modern fire station and it will meet all the modern station design guides for safety and security,” Moore said.

According to Moore, construction on the station began around four years ago, but the flood forced changes and a postponement. He noted that the next station to be refurbished is Fire Station 3 on Woodlawn, which is already in the engineering stage.

“We were working on a remodel that was supposed to start this year anyway, but with the flood, we had to reevaluate and check to see if there were other properties that were better,” Moore said. “As long as we fix the flooding issue, the current site is the best site.”

The old legal offices at 226 S College Ave. are home to the makeshift fire station. Moore stated that to maintain services, they are utilizing the makeshift station. He clarified that no one was let go; they had simply moved to the new location where the services are provided.

“Having everything centralized tends to flow better and is more efficient,” Moore said. “We are hoping to have it all putback and make it better than it was before the flood happened.”

According to Moore, although these kinds of initiatives can be costly, they are excellent community investments.

“We are very thankful for the taxpayers and everyone that helped make this possible so we can continue to provide excellent service,” Moore said.

 

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