BUILDING BLOCKS: Fitchburg East Fire Station

(Rendering courtesy of Short Elliott Hendrickson)

Project name: Fitchburg East Fire Station

Address: 2950 S. Syene Road, Fitchburg

Size: 26,800 square feet

Cost: $6.37 million

Start month: May 2018

Estimated completion month: April 2019

Owner: City of Fitchburg

General Contractor: Miron Construction, Neenah

Architect: Short Elliott Hendrickson, St. Paul, Minn.

Significance to the region: The new station will replace the city’s existing station on its east side. The replacement is being done because the nearby town of Madison is scheduled to dissolve in 2022 and be absorbed, in part, by Fitchburg. The new station is meant to ensure safety workers can reach all parts of Fitchburg’s east side, including the soon-to-be-incorporated parts, in a timely manner.

The new station will have a four-port vehicle bay and bunk corridors, a kitchen, locker rooms, a weight room and training room. The station will also have geothermal power and solar-heated water.

Fitchburg’s East Fire Station is the second station the city has replaced in recent years. It rebuilt its West Fire Station, also at a new site, in a project completed in 2017.