New fire station dedicated with ceremony, open house

P. Kim Bui

Ames’ newest fire station held its opening ceremonies and an open house for the public Friday.

Fire Station No. 3 is located at the intersection of South Duff Avenue and Airport Road.

The space was owned by the State Forestry Department before being leased to the city, said Fire Chief Clint Petersen.

“It is excellently located, and we were happy to get the location,” he said.

The city held an open house for the public and performed the traditional ‘housing the fire truck’ ceremony.

Ames firefighter Kelly Wilson said the tradition stems from when horse-drawn carriages were used. Community residents and firefighters pushed the carriages into the station as a symbol of support for the firefighters.

Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco and city council members continued the tradition by pushing ladder truck No. 3 into its place. The $650,000 truck is new, Wilson said.

The new truck holds 350 gallons of water and has more storage compartments and more room for firefighters than the old truck, which had to be affixed to a fire hydrant.

This could save time, said Lt. Kevin Peterson. Usually a firefighter has to be dropped off at a hydrant, which could be as far as a block away, he said.

The new firehouse boasts new features as well.

Each of the five firefighters on duty will have their own room, and all fifteen on a rotation of three 24-hour shifts will have their own closets, said Wilson. The other two stations have quarters for firefighters, but there is not a separate room for each firefighter.

Peterson said the new rooms will be more comfortable because the fire stations are getting more calls per night.

The new firehouse includes an exercise room with elliptical equipment, treadmills and weight machines. “We had a big say in what went into the exercise room,” said Wilson.

The other two fire stations have exercise equipment intermingled with the bunk-rooms, said Peterson.

The firefighters paid for the new flat-screen TV and all the food in the fire station, Wilson said. The city of Ames and taxpayers paid the rest.

New safety features will ensure safety while firefighters are on the job.

When the alarm for a fire goes off, all electrical equipment including the stove and TV, will automatically turn off, Wilson said. A different set of lights will also turn on after the regular lights turn off, he said.

Each of the city’s fire stations has a specialty. Fire Station No. 1 is a multipurpose station and station No. 2 is a hazardous-materials station. Fire Station No. 3 will be mainly a rope rescue station.