FEMA grant helps Mich. FD improve response times with new firehouse

By Melissa Frick
mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A new 10,640-square-foot building is currently under construction at the corner of Kalamazoo Avenue and Kendall Street.

Once completed, the facility will speed up emergency response times for residents in Grand Rapids’ Third Ward, which has roughly 14,000 residents on the city’s southeast side.

Construction began on the new Kendall Street Fire Station last fall, and it is expected to be ready for move-in by this September, a city spokesperson said.

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The two-bay facility, located at 4044 Kalamazoo Ave. SE , will include private living quarters for firefighters, modern amenities, kitchen and dining areas, a fitness room and on-site parking, the city said.

It will also feature drive-thru apparatus bays, advanced exhaust systems and ample storage for equipment.

Holland-based EV Construction is the building contractor for the project, while Integrated Architecture is designing the new fire station.

Currently, the Grand Rapids Fire Department has only one fire station located directly in the city’s Third Ward, following the consolidation of southeast side stations in the 1980s.

Grand Rapids Fire Chief Brad Brown said that move has left the city’s firefighters stretched too thin as the ward has grown.

The new Kendall Street Fire Station will improve timely responses and ensure resources are equitably distributed across the city, Brown previously told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded the city of Grand Rapids a $3.17 million grant to fully fund the staffing of the fire department for the first three years.

The construction of the new fire station is being fully funded by a $35 million state grant that was allocated by lawmakers in last year’s state budget .

The grant will also fully cover the construction of another new fire station on Division Avenue, as well as partially fund the construction of a fire training and operations center .

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