This raises the question of whether the general requirement to increase the height of the main bay doors as part of the Fire Station 2 renovation plan is still appropriate.  

The selectmen reached a consensus to have the issue studied. Also, Chris Burney, director of facilities and public works, said he believes the existing building has space at the top to extend the door height by two or three inches.

The discovery about custom ordering fire trucks to fit the building comes at a time when it could be a money saver, because the town has many infrastructure projects to consider, including the town hall campus, the town hall annex and the police station.

Instead, the department bought a home on Mountain City drive -- a move approved by the Mountain City Council. Chief Taylor explained that typically new fire stations cost three to four million dollars to build. Instead, they took a different approach by taking care of it themselves at a fraction of the estimated cost, spending $370,000 to make it happen.  

"They [firefighters] did a lot of the work, and that was important. You know firefighters, on their days off, they do other jobs. A lot of them do construction and that kind of stuff, so they got to make little overtime to rebuild the house," said Taylor. "So we bought a house and built a big garage in the back and converted the house, and it's been working very well so far."

It's a lot homier than probably most fire stations. It's complete with three bedrooms, a custom-made kitchen, living room, workout space, back patio and of course, a large garage to house the fire engines. Just down the road from Hays High School, the fire station was built at the perfect place and time.

This is the second AFG award for the company. It was awarded $49,852 in February 2010.  

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program awards grants directly to fire departments and emergency services to support their efforts to protect the communities they serve. The Fiscal Year 2017 program will award approximately $345 million in competitive grants to first responder organizations across the country to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources required to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

Construction on the “regional asset,” as it’s noted in a Fire Department news release, began this summer with ground preparations as the training tower itself was constructed offsite and shipped in. Parts of the facility began arriving last week.  

It will take about one week to build, followed by “a few weeks of additional work,” including electrical and fire sprinkler installments before the facility is fully operational, but the “bulk” of the construction is slated for completion this week.