North Park Fire breaks ground on new fire station

MACHESNEY PARK, Ill. (WIFR) - North Park Fire Protection District officially broke ground Monday on its new fire station.

Officials say it will replace three existing buildings which all date back to the 1950′s and 60′s. The new facility will be less expensive to operate, more space for fire equipment and will allow for a faster response time to the community.

It will be located at 1011 Harlem Road in Machesney Park.

Fire Chief Joel Hallstorm says, “So, this puts us in the center of our population census this is right in the middle. It’s a really appropriate response area to catch like 90% of our call volumes. So, it will help a lot of the efficiencies and how we operate, and we’re excited to be here kind of in the middle of the village where we belong.”

Officials say it will be 20,000 square feet, private bunk rooms for the firefighters, larger classrooms, and it will allow for more community involvement during fire events. Hallstorm says the new station will give them the proper space they need to operate.

Hallstorm says “It’s going to be a good-looking sharp building. It’s going to be something to be proud of. We are building it in a way where we can really involve the community in our fire protection events now because we will have a big open area and big parking lots.”

The new building is expected to be finished in a year.

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