GREENFIELD — Jason Horning patted the top of his head. There’s a bit of a bald spot that didn’t exist a few months ago, he remarked, drawing a laugh from the crowd.
Months of organizing and planning, of meeting with contractors and architects and firefighters, have made the dark black hair atop his head a bit thinner, joked Horning, the assistant chief of the Greenfield Fire Territory.
But now, thankfully, it’s all over, he said; the remodel and expansion of the fire department’s Station 22 is complete. The firefighters who take runs out of the station, 210 W. New Road, have settled into the building.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryOver the weekend, they welcomed a crowd of city officials, local residents and their own families inside to see the place the fire department’s leaders hope will become a hub for training, meetings and classes for firefighters across the region.
The city borrowed $3.3 million to pay for the remodel, which put a two-story addition on the west side of brick structure that’s sat along New Road for more than 25 years.
Station 22 was built in 1991 on land donated to the city by Keihin IPT, the large automotive parts manufacturer located just west of the site, and it originally only housed a handful of volunteer firefighters.
As the area grew, the fire department grew with it, Chief James Roberts told the crowd that gathered for the dedication last weekend. And firefighters had started to feel the pains of that growth as they crammed into the little, outdated building, he said.
Roberts proposed the remodel in 2016, and construction began a year later.
The new addition includes expanded living quarters for firefighters; a locker room; storage areas for equipment; a kitchen; a day room; a fitness area; a new ambulance bay; and a small museum packed with department memorabilia.
The existing fire station was renovated into office space with conference rooms, a large classroom and testing center for firefighters, an office for the Center Township Trustee and a substation for Greenfield Police Department officers.
Horning was put in charge of overseeing the project — hence the bald spot, he joked — and said the department’s priority was to make sure the firefighters were well taken care of. They live at the fire station during their 24-hour shifts. The place needs to be comfortable and up to date to ensure firefighters are their most successful, he said.
Firefighters are excited about the prospect of making the remodeled station their home, and they’ve already started to be put their own personal touches on the building, firefighter Corey Breese said.
For example, firefighter David Wickard build a unique kitchen table for the firehouse, with a top emblazoned with Station 22 logos and legs made out of old fire hydrants. A committee of firefighters picked out the artwork that hangs throughout the facility, as well.
Though the bigger day room, the better workout area and the more spacious dormitory have their appeal, Station 22’s firefighters are most excited about the little museum constructed on the south side of the building, Breese said.
The room is filled with retired equipment and two antique fire trucks, Breese said. Everything from the old ladders and helmets to the working fire trucks belonged to a Greenfield firefighters from the past, paying homage to the department’s history, Breese said.
In the corner of the museum, the turnout gear that had belonged to firefighter Scott Compton, who died in the line of duty last year, is on display. Compton’s boots, jacket and pants were donated to the department by his family, and his peers felt it fitting to put the items on display.
“Firemen are proud of their heritage, of their history,” Horning said.