By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

NAPPANEE — During Monday evening’s meeting of the Nappanee City Council, Mayor Phil Jenkins said the location for a new fire station hopefully would be revealed in the near future.

Earlier this year, Jenkins noted the city was evaluating 14 potential sites for the new station. The city is hopeful that construction will begin in spring 2024 and be completed by 2025.

At this week’s meeting, Jenkins said they have met with the property owners of the site being considered. However, details of the location will not be revealed until the plans are solidified. Once that happens, the city will seek requests for proposals with the hope that design and building plans can begin this fall.

The current fire station, which came into service 53 years ago, is attached to city hall. The facility also housed the police and EMS departments until 1991 when a separate building was constructed across Lincoln Street for those two entities. According to Jenkins, there has been a 67% increase in calls since the fire department moved in to the building in 1970.

“This is something we’ve been discussing for around six years now,” said Jenkins. “We want to be able to combine our fire department and EMS into one building. We also have a big need for living quarters.”

He pointed out that changes in technology and equipment of both departments necessitate more direct interaction. Currently, the fire department has two full-time members. To roll out a truck, there must be four members, which is sometimes daunting during daytime hours when the department is run primarily by volunteers. Jenkins said the city is hoping to add two more full-time firefighters to the department in the next two years to help alleviate that problem.

He added that the EMS department currently has living quarters suited for two people, but due to an increase in need the city has been adding a third EMT to that living space during each shift.

“Our biggest thing (was) choosing a site that allows the quickest response time to emergencies,” Jenkins said.