A committee of Vermontville Township residents has been formed to explore the possibility of constructing a new fire station for Vermontville Township Fire personnel.
The goal of this committee will be to obtain government and corporate grants and donations sufficient to construct the new facility without using tax funds.
When the current station was constructed in 1970, it was a significant step up from the old station that was in the bottom of the Opera House, located on Main Street in Vermontville. That space is currently the home of the Vermontville Public Library.
The need for the current fire station occurred when the Vermontville Township Fire Department purchased a new Dodge Tanker in 1968 and it could not fit into the station. The tanker had to be stored outside, empty of water in the winter, until an extra bay was added to house the unit. The Vermontville Township offices now occupy that space.
Fast forward to 2015. The fire department is again faced with a shortage of space. The size of fire apparatus and the ambulance has grown substantially and shows no sign of reversal. Any work on the vehicle must now be done outdoors, no matter what they weather may be.
The ultimate goal of the committee is to design and construct a facility that will serve the people of the area and the members of the department for the next 100 years.
Committee members feel it is important for the new fire station to remain in its current location, centrally located in the Township and Village, to act as a centerpiece of activity in the community and to promote the downtown area.
For more information on the efforts of the committee, contact Vermontville Township Fire Chief Matt Emery at (517) 726-1269 or email mattemeryvfd@hotmail.com.
Article submitted by the Vermontville Township Fire Department Committee.
