Audrey Whitaker
mlive.com
(TNS)
KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, MI — An aging fire station is being replaced in Kalamazoo Township, and a church is being torn down to make way for the new facility.
Originally built in the 1940s, Kalamazoo Township’s Eastwood Fire Station and its attached living quarters no longer fit the township’s needs.
Kalamazoo Township officials plan to break ground on a new station in October, said Fire Chief Jairus Baird. The $11 million project is planned to be ready by the end of 2026.
Fresh Fire African Methodist Episcopal Church is is being demolished to make way for the new station at 2409 Texel Drive, Baird said. The demolition began Monday, July 28.
Demolition of a church at 2409 Texel Drive, facing Gull Road, began Monday, July 28, 2025. (Audrey Whitaker)
Fresh Fire deactivated its Facebook page in 2023, directing members to a new church started by Fresh Fire’s founder.
The township purchased the property at the end of 2024 for $400,000, Superintendent Tracie Moored said. It’s less than a mile from the current station.
The three fire engines currently housed at 2703 E. Main St. can’t pull fully out of their bays without blocking traffic, Baird said. With more than 2 inches of snow on the ground, they scrape the top of the door frames.
Fire department officials worked closely with architects to design a building that will meet the department’s needs now and as the township grows, Baird said.
Plans include a designated entrance for the public with 30 parking spaces, a community room for training, three truck bays nearly twice as long as the current station’s and updated living quarters for on-duty staff.
“We’ve built expansion into the station,” Baird said.
There’s room for the three current engines, he said, plus four more, should the township grow or need space to work on repairs.
There’s ample room to drive out of the building onto Gull Road, Baird said. A separate driveway on Texel Drive will lead engines right into the bays, eliminating the need to reverse the trucks into a tight space.
Firefighters can hang hoses to dry inside the tower on the front of the building, he said. Staff can also use it to practice climbing out of windows during training.
The building will also boast updated safety and climate controls, said Mark Bushhouse of Williams Architects.
“We want to make sure the living quarters and offices are always very healthy,” he said. “We have decontamination rooms, we have airlocks, we have different pressurization on our mechanical systems so that the bad air never pushes into the good air zones.”
The fire station will use geothermal technology to heat and cool the building, Bushhouse said.
In the winter, heat will be drawn into the building out of underground wells, he said. In the summer, the same process has the reverse effect.