The new fire station project in downtown Lebanon is a long time coming and the city has been discussing the need to replace the 70 year-old building since 2019. The current station was originally built in 1954 and is severely in need of modernization to meet the city’s needs, as well as providing critical health and safety upgrades.

I was dismayed to read a letter advocating against the fire station because of the cost. Building this fire station isn’t, and never should, just be a matter of dollars and cents. The city needs to ensure the building safeguards the health and welfare of the brave members of the Fire Department, as well as meeting the city’s emergency response needs. Our current station falls short of those objectives and the City Council approved in December a budget that includes a plan to tear down and replace the fire station.

Most important to my support of the new station are the health and safety upgrades provided. The current station currently houses both fire and EMS vehicles in parking bays that open directly into office space and equipment storage, and are directly underneath the living quarters. This means that the people and equipment in the station are being directly exposed to the exhaust from those vehicles and other contaminants every day. The new station will provide critical separation of vehicles, equipment storage and living and working quarters. Moreover, the current station isn’t ADA accessible, lacks central heating and cooling, and lacks gender specific changing rooms. These issues will also be addressed in the new fire station.

The current station also doesn’t meet the city’s current and future needs for emergency medical and fire services. The station was built when the city’s population was less than 9,000 residents. Today, the city has over 15,000 residents and the Fire Department responds to over 4,100 calls a year, a 40% increase in calls over just five years.

The department has also grown since the station was first built, as it expanded to provide EMS, community nurse and community paramedic services to our community. The current station does not have sufficient space for our community nurses and paramedic, and can only house five firefighters overnight. The new station will provide necessary workspace for the Fire Department and up to 10 firefighters 24/7.

With that said, I recognize the concerns about the cost of the station, estimated at nearly $22.7 million. However, the building is now 20 years past its useful life and needs to be replaced. The replacement is a matter of when, not if, and the costs of delaying the new station are significant. Had the station been replaced in 2019, the cost would have been significantly less than today. When adjusting for construction inflation, the new station would have cost nearly $10 million less than today. Had the station been replaced in 2004 when it was 50 years old and at the end of its useful life, the cost would have been $14mm less than today.

Simply put, the city has outgrown the current station and our Fire Department deserves a safe place to work. By not replacing the current fire station, we’re telling our Fire Department to continue to expose themselves to unsafe conditions. These brave men and women put their health and safety on the line to protect and care for us every day, on every call they go on. They shouldn’t have to put their health at risk just by showing up for work. The truth is that the city cannot afford to make the new station only about the money.

Doug Whittlesey represents Ward 1 on the Lebanon City Council.