Exterior walls are in place and interior walls are framed, with work continuing daily at the site just off the main loop in the central campus.

Intended as a satellite station, the SIUE fire station will be primarily dedicated to the college campus and the warehouse distribution district in west Edwardsville near Interstate 255. The $3.8 million, 8,300-square-foot station is intended to improve response times and bolster service to the growing western side of the city. The land, located next to the Early Childhood Center, has been promised to the city since 1995.

Initially, the station will have one engine, one truck and one ambulance, with a staff of two to four people, Welle said. “We’re still building up our staffing,” he said.

One extra feature of the new fire station is a “safe haven.” The west side of the station will have a small lobby open 24 hours a day with an emergency phone, and anyone who is in trouble or needs help can get immediate help from the paramedics on staff.

“We want students or anyone else to know they can stop in and seek help if necessary,” Welle said.

By summer 2018, they will get a massive, new, state-of-the-art home.

Designed by architecture and urban design firm Studio Gang, the 20,000-square-foot station will feature an obstacle course and a pit to practice underground rescues. On the edge of the roof terrace will be hooks to practice scaling the building — which firemen often need to do in real-life situations.

"It strikes a balance between being inviting to the community yet robust and secure enough to withstand training so they can do their job," the station's project designer, Weston Walker, tells Business Insider.

On July 28, the studio and FDNY's Rescue Company 2 celebrated the $32 million station's ground breaking.

To design the new station, the architects asked the firefighters what they needed from the new station. 

Rescue Company 2 is one of five elite rescue companies in New York City, which means that in addition to fires, they also respond if there's an emergency situation like a collapsed buildings or people trapped underwater or under a car.

According to the Company's feedback, the new station will have a large, open central area, so that firefighters have room to drag their rigs, Walker says. Several training rooms will be located off of that main atrium. The station will also be the first in NYC to include large garage doors in the front and back, so that trucks can drive in and out quickly.

The department has been relying on a 1997 fire engine that has served it well, but with its age the costs of repairs and maintenance made it necessary to replace. Robertson said the engine currently has brakes, maintenance and electrical issues.

“It has an emergency brake that doesn't work,” Robertson gave as an example of the older truck's problems. “We would get to a fire, have to turn off the engine, get out, chock the tires, get back in and start the engine, then hook up the hoses.”

Parker County Emergency Services District No. 7 acquired the new $354,000 fire truck for the Cool-Garner VFD on a 12-year lease purchase, with a service life expectancy of 20-25 years.