Even though the building is almost finished, opening a new fire station is more complicated than simply completing construction. Mayo said the city is in the process of installing the equipment and other touches inside needed to convert a building into a working fire station.

Inside the new building, you can see beds ready for firefighters to sleep in and tables where they can eat. New stoves, refrigerators and microwaves stand ready to serve, and a laundry room waits for its first basket of dirty clothes.

Assistant Chief Harry Brown said the system that alerts firefighters to get into action has yet to be installed, along with other things, such as a fuel tank.

Firefighters should be able to move in sometime this month, Brown said.

Beaver Dam Fire Chief Alan Mannel in a phone interview called the gift a very generous donation. The donation will go toward purchasing exposure suits for water rescues, which will replace the department’s aging rescue suits.

Mannel said that over the last five years, his department has responded to 15-20 lake rescues and he estimates that rescue crews are out on Beaver Dam Lake more than three times a year.