By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Grand Island Fire Station No. 3 was dedicated Thursday, replacing a 1987 building at the same address on South Webb Road.
- The new roughly 10,000-square-foot station, more than double the size of the previous 4,000-square-foot building, includes a decontamination room and separate zones intended to keep carcinogens and other contaminants out of living areas.
- The facility can house a three-person engine company and a two-person ambulance crew, addressing rising EMS call volume in the growing southwest part of the city.
- The $5.5 million project came in about $200,000 under budget and was funded through a 2018 sales tax without requiring the city to take on debt.
- City Council President Ryan O’Neill said the dedication also honored council member Mike Paulick, who helped plan the station and died earlier in the week.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — Grand Island dedicated its new Fire Station No. 3 on Thursday, a $5.5 million facility that officials say was designed with firefighter health and safety as a central priority.
The roughly 10,000-square-foot station replaces a 4,000-square-foot building constructed in 1987 at the same address, 2310 S. Webb Road. Fire Chief Cory Schmidt said the new building is divided into three zones intended to keep the living quarters free of carcinogens and other contaminants, including a dedicated decontamination room where firefighters can remove hazardous substances from their skin and uniforms before entering common areas.
“Our firefighters go into a lot of situations that normal people don’t see. This gives them the ability to clean up without dragging those things into the living area,” Schmidt said.
The station consolidates equipment that had previously been stored in a separate outbuilding, which Schmidt said slowed response times. The new building has space for a three-person engine company and a two-person ambulance crew — a capability the old station lacked — addressing growing EMS demand in the fast-developing southwest part of the city. The station also includes individual sleeping rooms, expanded fitness and work areas, additional insulation and LED lighting intended to reduce long-term utility costs, and a sprinkler system the old building did not have.
The project came in about $200,000 under budget and was funded through a 2018 voter-approved sales tax, allowing the city to avoid taking on debt, according to City Administrator Patrick Brown. Architect Ray Holliday of BRE Architects said the station is designed to last 75 years.
City Council President Ryan O’Neill said the dedication also carried special meaning following the death of council member Mike Paulick earlier in the week. Paulick, who served on the council since 2012 and worked for the city for 30 years, helped plan the station after touring the outdated facility with Mayor Roger Steele in February 2023. That visit prompted a council study session that set the project in motion, according to Schmidt.