NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Fire Department is proud to announce the completion of Fire Station 1, 2222 North Main Street and you're invted to see it on Thursday.
"Tomorrow at 3 p.m., we'll be having a ribbon cutting ceremony," said Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer. "Actually, we'll be uncoupling a fire hose, instead of cutting a ribbon, more of a tradition in our line of work, followed by an open house. If you can't make it Thursday, we have one Saturday morning for families to stop by from 9 a.m. to noon."
The fire department officially starts operating out of the new building as of 8 a.m. Thursday.
"We're pretty excited about the whole process," Beer said. "Having local people, Wiens Construction, Mann and Company Architects, keeping it local, if you don't see the pride in ownership in that, going through the whole process. The building, it looks beautiful. They did a wonderful job in construction. The building is going to be here for 100 plus years."
The new station replaces a 1950s era building that was the previous Station 1 just down the street at 20th and Main.
"We just put polished concrete throughout the whole entire building," Beer said. "There's no carpet, no tile, any type of flooring besides concrete. Come on down, take a look and I'll be happy to show you all the changes, because this is truly a game changer for the City of Hutch."
The new facility is focused on decreasing the risk of cancer for firefighters by incorporating separate gear storage and decontamination areas to clean contaminated gear and equipment, keeping it away from the living area of the firefighters while they are on duty.
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