Steve Lord
Beacon-News (Aurora, Ill.)
(TNS)

The Aurora City Council recently approved annexation and a final plan for a 2.5-acre site at Bilter Road and Nan Street for the new Fire Station 13.

Aldermen also approved a conditional use for the property just east of Farnsworth Avenue on land the city has owned since 2015.

Aurora Fire Department officials have said the new station will cut response time in the area in half. That area includes Chicago Premium Outlets mall and all the development along Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road. It also includes all the residential in that area and all the homes that could be built there in the future.

Right now, that area is served by either a fire station near Fox Valley Mall, or downtown.

A study done several years ago pinpointed the best locations for fire stations in Aurora. According to fire officials, the goal in moving and constructing new stations is to get response times below six minutes for regular fire responses and four minutes for emergency medical responses.

While the city has had a fire station in mind for the Bilter Road and Nan Street location since 2015, residents along Nan Street said they were concerned about what the station there might bring.

They worried the activity there would be too much for the residences along Nan Street, which are in unincorporated Aurora Township.

But city officials said the 2.5-acre Bilter and Nan site would be perfect for the about 19,000-square-foot station. When leaving for an emergency, all the fire vehicles would exit onto Bilter Road. They would only use Nan Street when returning to the station, officials said.

The station would be 80 feet from Nan, with a lot of landscaping, including a six-foot-high solid wood fence there.

Officials have said that a number of city fire stations are located in residential neighborhoods, and there have been no problems.

Last month, the City Council also approved a new station site along Eola Road of 17,600 square feet. Fire Station 9 be on land at 7S300 Eola Road, just south of Liberty Street.

slord@tribpub.com

©2024 Beacon-News (Aurora, Ill.). Visit at chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

One person was injured in an explosion at a propane production facility in Waller County on Wednesday afternoon, according to emergency officials. It happened around 12:30 p.m. at the RapidXchange Production Facility on FM 529 in Brookshire, about 10 miles north of I-10. As of 3:30 p.m., the Waller County Fire Marshal's Office said the fire was under control and the grass fire surrounding the facility was completely contained.
- PUB DATE: 10/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KHOU-TV CBS 11 Houston

PHOTOS: The Summit Fire and Rescue team is sending gratitude to the Blountsville and Brooksville Fire and Rescue teams after two of their crew members were involved in a apparatus wreck. According to Summit Fire and Rescue, via Facebook, the station received a call Tuesday, October 15, that reported a Fire truck from station 60 had overturned.
- PUB DATE: 10/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBMA-TV ABC 33/40 Birmingham

VIDEO: If you call for fire services in one of 35 counties in Georgia, specially trained prison inmates may be the first to respond. Amid a historic shortage of firefighters, Georgia counties are increasingly turning to state prisons for manpower. The latest data from the National Fire Protection Association reports the lowest number of volunteer firefighters nationwide since 1991.
- PUB DATE: 10/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WXIA-TV NBC 11 Atlanta

VIDEO: Early cancer detection screenings started on Wednesday for Chico firefighters, their families and city officials to ensure that those who serve the community can take important steps for their health. The Galleri test, developed by Grail LLC, offers an annual health screening for firefighters in Chico.
- PUB DATE: 10/17/2024 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KRCR-TV ABC 7 Redding