At 26,000-square-feet, the new fire station is about the same size as the Fayetteville fire station. The new station is situated on a 4 1/2 -acre site.

The front lobby will feature a history room with the antique fire engine, the old fire pole and other artifacts, clippings and photos. There is a large community/meeting room, a day room for firefighters with a kitchen, tables, counter and card table, a conference room, fitness rooms, locker rooms with showers, training rooms and more.

Washington Township will be tearing down the old fire house on Bedford Road and replacing it with a new 62x80 metal building. It will include four bays for emergency vehicles, a separate bay in the rear for maintenance, restroom, storage, small kitchen and meeting room facilities.

“This will give us a lot more usability and viability,” said Wichman. “It will allow us to redistribute our trucks, provide space for our fire fighting equipment, give us a secure place for some of our high-end and communications equipment, provides us a maintenance area to keep our vehicles operating and gives us a place for a second command center if we need it.”

The project, which was organized by the fire board, former Fire Chief Butch Weedon, and a separate steering committee of local residents, started in 2010.

Overall, about $250,000 of services, materials, and money were donated to the project. 

According to Royce Shipley, former chairman of Gore Hill Fire Service Area, more than 250 residents and around 20 businesses contributed to the project.

Shipley added the station will shorten the fire response times for fires near Fox Farm and Big Bend.

It will be an opportunity to see what the fire department has been up to and to visit with Fire Pup and have pictures taken with the children. It’s also an opportunity to get a firsthand look at the new station and view equipment and ask questions.

In addition, Reno County EMS will have an ambulance and the Hutchinson Police Department will have a squad car to view. At the top of each hour, a 10-year lithium battery smoke detector will be given away, so place your name in the box for a chance to win.

For the past several months, a strategic planning process has been underway that included input from residents, business leaders, firefighters and police to develop a plan to guide the Middletown Division of Fire.

“We’ve been reactive to issues and this allows us to be more proactive by planning things years out,” Middletown Assistant Fire Chief Tom Snively said of the 27-page plan released this week.