The laying of that foundation has taken longer than expected, Fire Chief Roger Audette of the Augusta Fire Department said Tuesday afternoon. But assuming inclement weather doesn’t throw a wrench in other construction plans, Audette still thinks the project will be completed by Jan. 31.

Utility companies have already installed water, sewer and gas connections at the site on Leighton Road, Audette said. Next steps will include erecting a steel frame for the building and adding siding and roofing.

“We’re finishing up the concrete foundation, which has slowed us up a lot,” said Audette as he surveyed the Leighton Road site. “It’s safe to say we’re a couple weeks behind, just because of the labor required to pour the concrete.”

But without bad weather, Audette, who has also worked as a builder, said, “We don’t see any reason why we won’t meet” the Jan. 31 completion date.

That date can’t come soon enough, he added.

In 2008, a study by the Matrix Consulting Group recommended the department — which also includes ambulance units — build a new station in the Civic Center Drive area near Interstate 95. In the last four years, there has been a 61 percent increase in fire department calls to north Augusta, which is now home to a bustling shopping area, a hospital and other businesses, organizations and public agencies.

The car wash says it was holding a charity fund-raiser at the time the firefighters stopped.

Fire Commissioner Eric Jones says in a statement that “this type of behavior only serves to detract from the image that our firefighters have worked so hard to earn in the community.”

Detroit Fire Fighter Association President Mike Nevin says firefighters are out saving lives every day and safety wasn’t in jeopardy at any time.