Residents can get inside looks at Janesville's new Central Fire Station after a 1 p.m. dedication ceremony Thursday, June 2.
Timing of construction wasn't ideal, given that the city's $7.9 million transit center opened in 2014, and critics labeled it a Taj Mahal.
The city council also deserved criticism when it voted in closed session in November 2013 to acquire a dozen homes to keep the new station on the same Milton Avenue block as the old station, and then kept the decision hidden from affected residents for months. That sparked petitions for direct legislation that the council ignored, triggering a lawsuit that a judge rejected.
Total costs for the new 31,500-square-foot station, including buying properties and relocating residents, was $9 million. Fortunately, instead of demolishing all the homes, two were moved, including a Second Empire-style house built in 1860. The station was finished ahead of schedule, and firefighters moved in during late April.
The building seems cavernous given the handful of firefighters on duty at any time. Yet it was built to accommodate needs for the next 50 years and includes the department's administrative offices. Dorm rooms have three sets of cupboards, bins and lockers because three firefighters sleep in each at differing times. Similarly, the kitchen has three refrigerators. Each shift plans its own meals, and firefighters shop and pay for their own food.