Half of the St. Joseph Fire Department's Downtown headquarters truck bay is empty. The department is waiting on a contractor to do finishing touches and ensure recently poured concrete is ready to hold the weight of a firetruck. The department repaired the flooring this week as part of routine maintenance.
The city allocated $75,000 of the fire department’s budget to concrete repair projects this budget cycle. Old concrete flooring at the Downtown headquarters was torn up and new concrete poured.
Bids came in lower than the budgeted amount, Dalsing said, which allowed the department to do further repairs to Station No. 6.
The entryway at Station No. 6 will soon get a face-lift as well. Dalsing said the Fire Department regularly makes repairs to all of its stations.
The Downtown station was built in the 1940s, and several of the fire stations in St. Joseph were built in the early 1900s.
The Fire Department has plans to build two new fire stations, replacing two of the city’s oldest fire station buildings: No. 9 will move to 3200 Faraon St., and No. 11 is moving to South 22nd Street, near Walnut Street.