The city went from seven fire stations to four, with the completion of the West Dorothy Lane station project. A ribbon cutting will take place in December for the new Fire Station 37, according to city officials.  

With an average age of 42 years, Kettering’s previous fire stations lacked the physical space or available land to allow for the improvements necessary to upgrade to current standards. Existing stations were undersized for modern apparatus, devoid of mixed-gender facilities for 24/7 operations and did not meet ADA standards.  

Each of the new stations will be staffed 24 hours a day with members who are trained to respond to the more than 9,000 calls for emergency service the Kettering Fire Department receives each year.

Four months ago, Airport Director Raul Aguallo placed an order for a new fire truck. The bid gives the manufacturer 365 days to build the truck. They notified airport staff that the truck is done.

 

The entire project cost just under $900,000 and includes self-contained breathing apparatus, bunker gear and loose tools for the truck. Once the truck arrives, staff will train on the use of all the equipment. The airport is responsible for 10 percent of the costs. It will also keep its other two fire trucks.

"Once the roof started coming up, our chief told us to get in the truck and we had to ride out the rest of the storm inside the trucks," said Springfield Fire Department's engineer, Jeremy Clark.  

All of the firefighters we're unharmed in the trucks.