Repairs Underway At Evansville Fire Stations, Eyewitness News Gets A Progress Report

EVANSVILLE - As millions of dollars are being spent renovating Evansville fire stations, Eyewitness News gets a first-hand look at the progress. They're being called much needed repairs to ensure firefighters are rested and comfortable when they're not out serving the public.

For firefighter Tim Olsen, Hose House 14 is the only home he's known since joining the department.

Olsen tells us, "We can carry ourselves a little better. We can stand up and say, 'Yeah, we've got a nice, new station."

He's experienced life with chipped paint, broken boards and water leaking in to areas like the station's dormitory. When that happens, the firefighters will often jump out of bed in the middle of the night for a run with no time no change.

Olsen explains, "It's a little tough when you start off with water in your socks. It's one thing, when you're at a fire, and you get water in your socks but, it's another thing to just start from the get go with wet socks."

But, in a few weeks, those issues will be a thing of the past for the men and women of Evansville 14. Chief Dan Grimm gave me a first-hand look at the repairs and talked about the importance of the work being done.

"They have had a part in it so it makes it more their home," says Grimm who summed up the work being done in two words, "Major difference."

"They may be up all night long fighting a fire. We all know good rest is very important to personal safety as well as safety of the crew because they do work together."

While all of the areas of the station are being renovated, Olsen and his colleagues from Hose House 14 are staying at station 16 a few blocks away.

"Those crews are still providing the same community service, uses the same equipment and making the same runs they typically would," says Grimm. "They're just responding from a different house."

While the work may not be done by Thanksgiving, chief Grimm hopes to have his firefighters home for Christmas.

"By talking to the firefighters, they're very excited. This is their home. This is their home for 24-hours a day and, when they're not at home, they need to be comfortable. They need to feel that they are at home."

And for Olsen, "It's nice. You carry a little more pride when it's nice and knowing people care enough about you to take care of you."

Work has been done or is scheduled for all but one of the city's fire stations: a token of thanks to the men and women who run in to the fire while everyone else is running out.

MORE INFORMATION:

2012 Evansville Fire Department Facilities Improvements
Station 1
Replaced concrete apron on Gum Street side
Repaired /Re-asphalt/Restriped parking lot
Replaced/Repaired two HVAC units
Repaired drain line (Investigators Office line) (tile work with #1)
Install new energy efficient windows (not completed) getting quotes
Repaired damaged plaster and repainted several rooms
Replaced 2 over head doors in apparatus room
Station 2
Replaced celestial windows in great room
Installed Ice Maker
Replaced concrete apron (both sides of apparatus bays)
Painted walls in great room
Station 3
Replaced roof
Paved/Restriped parking lot
Station 4
Replaced roof
Installed Ice Maker
Station 5
Sealed concrete walls at roofs edge (between apparatus room & kitchen) Leak issues
Station 6
Installed Ice Maker
Station 7
Replaced roof
Installed Ice Maker
Install valve in sewer line to prevent sewage back up from entering station
Install new energy efficient windows (not completed) getting quotes
Paint interior walls
Station 8
Install new HVAC unit
Station 9
Replaced concrete apron (in front of all apparatus bays)
Station 10
Installed new roof
Installing new energy efficient windows (not completed) getting quotes
Station 14
Replace concrete apron
Replaced roof
Installed new gutters and downspouts
The following work is currently being done
Replaced two exterior doors (not completed)
Replace kitchen cabinets
Replace kitchen counter top
Replace kitchen faucet
Install new shower heads and faucets
New tile work in shower
Replace bathroom vanity top
Replace vanity faucets
Replace tile flooring throughout (w/ exception to bedroom and locker room)
Repaint walls and ceiling throughout
Re-grade soil to run water away from building
Re-caulk the foundation
Station 15
Replaced Asphalt/Re-stripe parking lot
Replaced apparatus room floor
Station 16
Replaced concrete at entrances to aprons
Painted interior walls
Replaced Overhead door in Chief's bay
Station 17
No work needed
Administration Office
Replace concrete at rear apparatus bay