Cape Fire Department opens roomier fire station that also can be used for training

Cape Girardeau firefighters have moved into the city’s newest fire station, closing the door on the community’s last antiquated fire station.

The new Station 4 at 3011 Lexington Ave. opened Tuesday as the finishing touches were being put on the building.

Final electrical work still was being done Thursday in advance of the official opening for public tours at 2:30 p.m. today.

The $3.47 million station replaces the cramped, 43-year-old station on Kurre Lane, assistant fire chief Mark Hasheider said.

That station was barely large enough to house two firetrucks.

A view of the fire station bay area of the new fire station 4 at 3011 Lexington Ave. on Thursday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

The new station has three double bays that can handle up to six vehicles if necessary. Plans call for parking three firetrucks at the new station for now.

City officials initially approved a design-build project with a $3 million budget. But the final price tag ended up nearly a half-million dollars higher largely because of additional excavation required to remove rock from the site, Hasheider said.

City officials said a fire sales tax, approved by voters, funded construction of the station.

The brick and board exterior, with its porch-like, columned entrance, is designed to blend with the surrounding residential neighborhood, the assistant chief said.

The single-story structure encompasses nearly 12,000 square feet, Hasheider said, and is constructed with space for future expansion.

Assistant fire chief Mark Hasheider points at one of the firetrucks of the new fire station 4 at 3011 Lexington Ave. on Thursday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

The three space bays have a high ceiling that allows for daily maintenance work on the large trucks.

Firetrucks enter from the rear of the bays and exit from the front.

Hasheider said the station was designed with fire training in mind, too.

The structure includes a mezzanine on the east side that will be used for training.

Firefighters hauled wooden boxes and boards up to the mezzanine Thursday. The wooden items are used to simulate parts of structures for fire training.

The mezzanine includes a window for ladder training.

The design allows for fire training “utilizing the building itself,” Hasheider said.

There even is a simulated manhole in the floor of the mezzanine with a tripod stationed above it to allow firefighters to be lowered through the opening, he said.

“We can do confined-space training in a safe environment,” he said.

“It allows us to utilize the facility as more than just a fire station,” Hasheider said.

Battalion chief Mike Ramsey, who conducts fire training, welcomed having a permanent training area.

“It is quicker to set up everything,” he said.

In the past, the department has trained in various buildings, tunnels and even city sewer manholes, he said.

The department trains not only its firefighters, but firefighters from departments throughout the region.

Ramsey said the Cape Girardeau Fire Department is the only department in Southeast Missouri that offers such a training program.

A number of the training boxes are outfitted with wires and other entanglements firefighters in full turnout gear and air pack have to navigate as part of the training. Ramsey said the goal is to put firefighters in a “high-stress, challenging environment.”

Having space to do the training inside the fire station makes it “safer and much more efficient,” Ramsey said.

Hasheider said the station has six doorless bunk rooms.

The station is staffed with a three-member crew for each 24-hour shift.

There are a total of nine firefighters and three crews who will work out of the station over the course of a week, according to Hasheider.

The kitchen has three pantries, one for each of the crews, he said.

Turnout gear is stored in lockers in a separate part of the building from living quarters.

One high-ceiling room will be used as a gym. Hasheider said there is space potentially to add a climbing wall.

Construction on the new fire station began in September 2016.

Penzel Construction Co. of Jackson was the contractor on the project. Two architectural firms — FGM Architects and Dille Traxel Architecture — handled the design work.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

3011 Lexington Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.