The new Port Huron Fire Department central station is fully operational after a year and a half of construction.
The fire department invited the Times Herald to tour the building ahead of an open house when the public can tour the building.
Construction of the 18,915-square-foot fire station on 10th Street began in December 2022 with the intention of modernizing the fire department’s facilities.
The new building provides Port Huron firefighters with new space for training, housing and equipment management. It was constructed to replace the River Street fire station built in 1960.
Battalion Commander Jeffrey Tucker said the two biggest changes from the old station are its location, which he said will speed up response times, and the new training facilities.
“See that fire hydrant? We didn’t have one before. We had to go to another location to train our firefighters in how to use it,” Tucker said.
The open parking lot provides firefighters with plenty of space to practice and perform rescue operations. A tower on the north side of the building provides firefighters with the opportunity to conduct rescue exercises using ladders.
The “training tower,” as firefighters call it, provides the department with a dedicated space to practice rappelling. Tucker said it’s a skill few fire departments train, but Port Huron firefighters have learned it because Port Huron has so many large structures, including the Blue Water Bridge.
One of the new facilities includes a decontamination room where firefighters can shower and wash their clothes if hazardous substances are involved in an operation.
Thanks to the new facility, firefighters no longer have to track hazardous materials they encounter on a call through the station to reach a shower and wash them off. Tucker said firefighters have had to use the decontamination room six times in the month since the new fire station opened to remove materials such as asbestos, demonstrating the need for an immediately accessible space.
Port Huron is also one of the busiest border crossings for hazardous materials in the United States, which further necessitates the establishment of a decontamination room.
A new living area provides separate sleeping quarters for each on-call firefighter. At the previous central station, all firefighters shared a bedroom. Living together made it difficult for individual firefighters to sleep and meant they had no privacy.
Firefighters typically work 24-hour shifts, meaning they must be on call and ready to respond. Other new living quarters include a recreation room where firefighters can watch television when they are off duty. A new kitchen includes two tables built by Port Huron firefighters themselves.
“All of this allows us to have a better quality recovery,” Tucker said.
He said it is important that firefighters sleep because they could be awakened at any time to respond to a call. These irregular work hours could lead to sleep deprivation among firefighters.
An open house to tour the new fire station will be held on August 15th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the station, 1400 10th St.
