Construction ongoing at police and fire stations

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Construction on the Central Fire Station and the Police Department are reportedly ongoing with minimal delays. 

St. Clair Shores City Manager Dustin Lent said in an interview on Jan. 20 that construction at the Fire Department had a bit of delay due to freezing temperatures. At the time, he said it was about a month away from being operable, but it all depended on the weather. 

The police building is on time and is scheduled to be opened in July of this year. Lent also said the opening depends on weather. 

“For all intents and purposes, they’re working hard and following right through like they’re supposed to,” Lent said. 

Fire Chief James Piper said the same thing in an interview on Feb. 10. He said the crew worked through the freezing temperatures with outdoor heaters and other things. 

“The different trades that were working on this building were working really hard all throughout that pretty tough winter we’ve been having so far,” Piper said. 

Piper said the building process was pretty much on schedule. 

“We’ve had some pretty mild winters in Michigan for the last few years and then this one hit really hard here early in November that just put them back,” Piper said. “Something that probably would have taken two or three weeks had the weather been nice took six or seven weeks because the way they had to do it in winter conditions.” 

Lent said nothing else caused delays and that both buildings have remained on budget. 

“I hope we stay that way,” Lent said. The whole central fire department building is mostly finished. The truck bay is bigger than the previous one with filtration devices to keep the air flowing and clean. In the new building, the living quarters for firefighters and the decontamination area are on opposite sides. Previously, firefighters had to track their gear through the living quarters in order to wash off. 

They kept a specialty washer from the previous building to properly clean bunker gear and there is a three basin sink to properly clean off the air packs. In the same area is a wet room for firefighters to wash off as well as an area to store their gear. 

One of the biggest things, Piper said, was that firefighters had to go through the bedroom area or the kitchen with their gear on in order to get to the showers. 

“If anybody was coming back from a fire and had a lot of stuff on them that we didn’t want to be there, they were literally tracking it through the living areas of the building,” Piper said. 

“That’s why people are so excited about that,” Lt. Kevin Kraus said

Other implementations keep contaminants to a minimum to protect the health of the firefighters. Piper said the main goals of the building include improved operations and improved safety, with safety being a top priority. Piper said they were running out of space at the old building. 

“You almost could have said that’s how stations go, but that last 15, 20 years or more they’ve been building modern stations. It was clear some of those modern safety features couldn’t be done in that old building,” Piper said. 

A few other elements from the previous station were kept including the old fire poles and some appliances. The department still has its historical artifacts and Piper said they’re still trying to find a home for it all in the new building. 

The new building also features a bigger training room, more unisex bathrooms, a bigger truck bay with a front and back entrance and more.

Piper said the construction hasn’t affected the department’s coverage in the city. The engine was moved to Station No. 2 for the duration of the project. 

Piper said the staff of the Fire Department is excited about the station and the new spaces. Kraus agreed. 

“Everyone that we’ve talked to about it has been super excited and really enjoying the new look and outlay of the new station,” Piper said. 

Before the project started, a building committee provided ideas, wants and needs to the architects. The committee included people from the department, administration, City Council and others. Piper said the architect was great at asking questions. 

“They had a really good process of asking the right questions,” Piper said. 

Police Chief Jason Allen said in an email the police station is still on schedule to be finished in June this year.