FEMA grant helps N.Y. FD reopen firehouse closed for nearly 30 years

By Jon Moss
syracuse.com

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse city leaders celebrated the reopening Wednesday of a fire station that’s been closed for 27 years.

Fire Station 12 at 400 W. Genesee St. is home again to an engine company for the first time since 1998. It had closed during a reorganization of the fire department after opening in the 1920s.

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The department was able to reopen the station on the edge of downtown thanks to a roughly $7.6 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It competed nationally for the money.

The grant is helping the department expand its capacity in two other ways.

A firefighter was added to Rescue Company at Fire Station 6 at 601 S. West St. That person will drive an additional fire truck, Rescue 2, to calls.

Four firefighters now staff a new unit, Ladder 1, at Fire Station 1 at 900 S. State St.

Fire Chief Michael Monds said at a news conference that the changes will help the department manage a growing number of emergency calls.

“You know that sometimes we struggle to keep up with this call volume‚” he said. “But this redeployment plan helps us ensure that we’re prepared for the complexity and density of today’s emergencies.”

Monds said the department is shifting around some existing personnel and adding three new firefighters. That brings the department up to 75 people on duty for each shift.

Monds broadcasted the staffing changes on the radio at the beginning of the day.

“Rescue Co. 2, Engine Co. 12 and Ladder 1 are on the air at 8:01 a.m. ,” a dispatcher replied.

The new engine and ladder have already fielded their first call.

They were sent at 9:05 a.m. to 516 E. Willow St. for a fire alarm, according to dispatches from the Onondaga County 911 Center. They were cleared from the scene about 10 minutes later.

Mayor Ben Walsh said he was excited about the station reopening and the booming local economy that helped to fuel it. A record level of construction activity was permitted by last year.

Walsh said he doesn’t think the federal grant for the fire department is in danger. President Donald Trump has imposed a series of unprecedented funding freezes across the federal government, some of which judges have ruled unlawful.

“Obviously, the uncertainty in the overall budget is very concerning to the city as a whole,” he said. “I’ve been given no indications that funding specifically through the SAFER grant for the fire department is at risk.”

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