New Albin Fire Department outgrowing its current facility; lack of space and functionability leads to proposal for replacement of 50-year old building


As evident in the photos above and below, space in the current New Albin Fire Station is not a luxury, as emergency vehicles and equipment have grown in both size and type required since the current facility was first built in 1968. Not only does the lack of space impact emergency response but also clean-up and maintenance of equipment. Submitted photos.

The New Albin Fire Department has researched options and proposed a plan to address the limitations of its current fire station facility that houses the department's firefighting equipment, in addition to ambulance and other emergency response equipment. The current facility was constructed in 1968 and falls short of meeting today's needs of the department in regard to space and other functional considerations. Photo by Anne Falken.

by Anne Falken

The current New Albin Fire Department facility was built in 1968. It was a vast improvement over the original 1918 building, which can still be seen on Main Street.

In the 50 years following construction of the current facility, no one could have imagined how the size of fire apparatus would increase, or the amount of specialized equipment that would need to be housed and transported. The result of that growth and additional requirements has now made the current building very tight and out of date.

Clearance is mere inches to get the trucks through the bay doors, and those doors must be opened to even check the truck’s oil and provide other maintenance. Indoor washing of trucks can only be done in one bay due to limited floor drainage and no 360-degree access to the trucks in the other bays. So, the trucks are moved back and forth, increasing volunteer time after a call.

Hoses need to be cleaned outside - even in winter, with no space to hang them; they lay on the floor to dry, which actually takes days. These are just a few of the issues facing the New Albin firefighting volunteers in their current facility.

The fire department needs the community to understand these and other shortcomings before it can go ahead with any new building plans. An open house was held in early May. The proposed building plans were on display, and fire department members were on hand to explain the dire situation. Despite the low number of residents who turned out, feedback given on a short survey was 100 percent positive in recognizing the needs and concerns.

One piece of information shared during the open house was that homeowners' insurance rates are partially based on how far their home is from a fire station or hydrant, how well-equipped that station is, how well-trained its members are, and how new its equipment. It’s called an ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating.

ISO is a for-profit organization that provides statistical information on risk. They audit or evaluate a city’s fire department for insurance companies. The fire portion of a homeowner's insurance premium is based on the ISO audit of their nearest fire department.
In 2014, ISO provided New Albin a Public Protection Classification of 46 out of a total of 105 points for Community Risk Reduction, and a score of 16 toward a total of 40 points for water supply credit. These numbers cannot be improved without more space.
The New Albin Fire Department is the only area department that doesn’t have the additional water tanking capacity for initial response. The tightness of the fire station building prohibits the addition of a second water tanker or even the future upgrading of their oldest engine to a pumper tanker capable of providing a large quantity of water or back-up engine duties, in the event of a mechanical failure of the primary engine. The additional length of a pumper tanker prohibits this upgrade in the current facility.

Another fact shared was that ambulance calls have doubled over the past nine years. The national trend is the same, ambulance calls have increased dramatically over fire calls. Legislation is currently moving through the Iowa Legislature to more equally assess costs for EMT calls among all townships served. Better cost sharing will help in funding and operating a new facility, but the communities served need to be on board with the changes, as well as with finding the best funding options.

New Albin Fire Chief Jon Johnson and the other fire department members plan to work with area townships and rural fire boards to gain their input on the project, as well. The fire department plans to raise a portion of the funds, but other options will be needed, in addition, as part of the funding mix. In other cases, communities have employed a referendum for voters (Iowa residents) to decide yes or no. Changing the mill rate (Minnesota residents) is another option; the mill rate looks at assessed property value and changes to property tax.

The idea of just an addition to the current facility to the west has been evaluated, and while it does add more space, it would add an additional exit point for emergency equipment response, creating a safety concern in the west alley. This option also doesn’t address the shortcomings within the existing structure in regards to space and access to the apparatus housed there.

Additionally with the age, maintenance needs and energy efficiency of the current structure, a new facility would be more appropriate for the longer term.

Unless a suitable alternate location is recommended, the plans are to demolish the current building and start new, with the proposed new building on the same site but expanding to the west. The library and city offices would not be displaced, only their roof would be replaced. Total building size is being planned at 70'8" x 80', and 16' in height. The building walls would be of engineered steel.

There would be four taller doors, instead of the five there now, and apparatus would be “double stacked” in each bay. New LED lighting will be installed, a new concrete slab will allow for better drainage, and radiant heating tubes and other upgrades are planned. The estimated building cost is $340,700.

Chief Johnson mentioned that he believes fire and EMS service is a direct reflection of a community’s pride and sense of its value of safety and personal property. He says the equipment, tools and training of a community's local service provide the community with the best chance of a positive outcome in light of a bad situation.

Chief Johnson urges New Albin residents or anyone else interested to take time to ask questions of any EMT or fire department members that they might know. He also advises to look for the next open house sometime in the near future, or other news from the New Albin Fire Department.