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In Canfield, officials, workers break ground for Fire Station 3
CANFIELD
Construction workers, Cardinal Joint Fire District board members and Canfield Township trustees broke ground for Fire Station 3 on Herbert Road on Wednesday morning – one of the first steps in achieving a long-term goal.
John Morvay, Canfield City Council member and Cardinal Joint Fire District board president, said that over the years, the fire district has been seeking ways to improve safety of the Canfield community through dry hydrants and similar projects, but the station is a bigger goal that he is proud to get going.
“This station is a longer-range goal of ours for the future of the township and city,” he said.
Fire Chief Don Hutchison said it is a step toward better response times for the fire district because of better coverage – not just in the north and west areas of Canfield, but better coverage overall.
“Right now, we get two calls at once 27 percent of the time. We’re out on one call [and] we end up responding to a second one because no one else is available,” Hutchison said. “Now, we will have a third truck on the road with paramedics, allowing us to cover areas better and more efficiently.”
With this additional coverage, he said the fire district would be hiring three more full-time employees, as provided for in the 1.25-mill levy that generates the funding.
The levy, generating $627,854 annually, was passed in 2014 with the goal of improving the Cardinal Joint Fire District’s impact on the Canfield community with projects such as the dry hydrants, better training and another fire station.
The fire station is estimated to cost $2.6 million and will include a decontamination room, a training room, two driveways, energy-efficient heated bay floors, all LED lighting and more.
Brett Hendricks, of Balog, Steines, Hendricks and Manchester Architects Inc. of Youngstown, joked and said that after the construction of the new station, the fire district should rename the stations, making this one No. 1.
Township officials and construction company representatives said the station should be completed by spring 2017.
Hendricks said although the groundbreaking is a big milestone, the bigger event will be the building dedication and ribbon cutting.