Emmett (KS) fire station’s fate in eastern Pottawatomie County may be known before the end of the year, as Pottawatomie County Fire officials say they’ve reached out to a company for a feasibility study on whether it makes sense to renovate the facility or build a new one, reports 1350kman.com.

Staffing became a concern as recently as six months ago—dropping to as few as two firefighters, the report says. Officials say some applications are pending, though the roster currently has seven firefighters.

Officials say the next step won’t take place until the study’s results are in, which they estimate will be in November.

The Rapid City (SD) Fire Department plans to request from city council $15 million to remodel its Station 1, reports blackhillsfox.com.

If approved, the money would come from COVID funds that were received from public safety wages in 2020, the report says.

Station 1, the main hub for first responders, has been in downtown Rapid City since 1975. The renovation would double its size.

Officials in Bowling Green (KY) approved the construction of a new fire station at a meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 19), according to a report published by WBKO.com.

The report said the Bowling Green Board of Commissioners awarded a noncompetitive bid to Brandstetter Carrol, Lexington, KY, for agricultural and engineering services for a bid not to exceed $540,000. The report added that the new station will be built across from the current location.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for Saturday (Oct. 23) to commemorate Beatrice (NE) Fire Rescue’s new fire station, according to a report published by the Beatrice Daily Sun.

The newspaper reported the station was budgeted to cost $8.3 million and is being funded by a half-cent sales tax which brings in about $1 million annually.

The new fire station has a 16,000 square foot apparatus bay and far more space than the department had in the city auditorium where it has been located since 1965, the television station reported.

A study to build a new station began 20 years ago and it took five years to complete, the television station reported, adding that a financial crisis halted any plans for a new station in 2008. In 2014, the city began thinking about a new station again and last March, ground was broken for the station on South Sixth Street.

On the heels of receiving $1 million in last year’s Illinois state capital construction bill for use toward a new fire station, the city of East Peoria has identified a site for the facility, reports pekintimes.com.

The city is in talks with Illinois Central College about building the new digs on its property, specifically on Centennial Drive, near the Dingledine Campus, the report says.

Officials say the location would decrease the department’s overall emergency response time. They add that the ground-breaking ceremony for the station is slated for next year with hopes it will be operational by mid-2023.