The Reporter, Vacaville, Calif.
(TNS)

Jul. 30—The city of Fairfield is inviting the community and local partners to join in celebrating the launch of work on a new fire station next month.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Fire Station 36, which the city calls a critical investment in the city’s growing public safety infrastructure, will be held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 21 at 4525 Business Center Drive.

The station is a key step in enhancing Fairfield’s emergency response capabilities and ensuring timely service to expanding neighborhoods and business districts in the Green Valley area. The new station is designed to improve response times, support firefighter safety, and serve as a strategic asset in times of emergency.

It is also a milestone in Fairfield’s plan to expand and modernize its emergency services, city officials noted, saying it reflects “the ongoing commitment to enhancing emergency response across both Fairfield and the Cordelia Fire District, including the simultaneous construction of a replacement Fire Station 39. On Huntington Drive.”

Originally Published: July 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM PDT

© 2025 The Reporter, Vacaville, Calif.. Visit www.thereporter.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Audrey Whitaker
mlive.com
(TNS)

KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, MI — An aging fire station is being replaced in Kalamazoo Township, and a church is being torn down to make way for the new facility.

Originally built in the 1940s, Kalamazoo Township’s Eastwood Fire Station and its attached living quarters no longer fit the township’s needs.

Kalamazoo Township officials plan to break ground on a new station in October, said Fire Chief Jairus Baird. The $11 million project is planned to be ready by the end of 2026.

Fresh Fire African Methodist Episcopal Church is is being demolished to make way for the new station at 2409 Texel Drive, Baird said. The demolition began Monday, July 28.

Fresh Fire deactivated its Facebook page in 2023, directing members to a new church started by Fresh Fire’s founder.

The township purchased the property at the end of 2024 for $400,000, Superintendent Tracie Moored said. It’s less than a mile from the current station.

The three fire engines currently housed at 2703 E. Main St. can’t pull fully out of their bays without blocking traffic, Baird said. With more than 2 inches of snow on the ground, they scrape the top of the door frames.

Fire department officials worked closely with architects to design a building that will meet the department’s needs now and as the township grows, Baird said.

Plans include a designated entrance for the public with 30 parking spaces, a community room for training, three truck bays nearly twice as long as the current station’s and updated living quarters for on-duty staff.

“We’ve built expansion into the station,” Baird said.

There’s room for the three current engines, he said, plus four more, should the township grow or need space to work on repairs.

There’s ample room to drive out of the building onto Gull Road, Baird said. A separate driveway on Texel Drive will lead engines right into the bays, eliminating the need to reverse the trucks into a tight space.

Firefighters can hang hoses to dry inside the tower on the front of the building, he said. Staff can also use it to practice climbing out of windows during training.

The building will also boast updated safety and climate controls, said Mark Bushhouse of Williams Architects.

“We want to make sure the living quarters and offices are always very healthy,” he said. “We have decontamination rooms, we have airlocks, we have different pressurization on our mechanical systems so that the bad air never pushes into the good air zones.”

The fire station will use geothermal technology to heat and cool the building, Bushhouse said.

In the winter, heat will be drawn into the building out of underground wells, he said. In the summer, the same process has the reverse effect.

In this episode of TIC Talk, hosted by Chris Mc Loone of Fire Apparatus and Emergency Equipment, Brad Harvey from Bullard covers how thermal imaging has evolved as it relates to initial size-up on the fireground.

Fifteen years ago, thermal imagers (TIs) were bulky, costly devices—upward of $30,000—and typically the responsibility of a single firefighter on scene. As Harvey notes, the technology has dramatically evolved: contemporary models are smaller, significantly cheaper, and more rugged, allowing multiple firefighters to carry TIs routinely.

This shift matters because size-up begins the moment responders receive an alarm and continues through arrival and action on scene. With more firefighters equipped, the situational awareness enlarges, improving coordination and decision-making.

Thermal technology has branched out—drones, aerial devices, and apparatus-mounted imagers now contribute supplementary imaging, expanding the incident commander’s toolkit.

Harvey stresses the importance of specialized training geared toward using thermal imaging for size-up, which differs from training focused solely on interior search and rescue. A major training emphasis should be understanding “normal” thermal signatures—like the impact of sunlight on residential roofs—and identifying subtle anomalies that could indicate hidden fire or structural weaknesses.

Identification is only half the battle. The other half is conveying what is seen through the thermal imager to team members and command in a way that supports rapid understanding and action. Harvey and Mc Loone discuss the challenge of radio traffic amid the chaos of a fireground, where brief updates are critical.

Rather than technical jargon, Harvey advocates for simple, direct reports. For example, instead of detailed temperature readings, a firefighter might relay: “Roof heat pattern looks abnormal—hotter near ridge, suspect fire exposure,” or “Heat venting from windows on two sides.” Such concise messages quickly convey what’s unusual and prompt command or others to investigate further or adjust tactics.

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