Cuba City’s fire department will be able to take over the full space at the former Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Building, the Common Council decided during a recent special meeting.
Council members considered the Board of Public Works’s recommendation to allow the fire department to occupy the whole building now that the Cuba City Area Rescue Squad is no longer operational. The Common Council voted earlier this year to sign a contract with Platteville’s Southwest Health to provide emergency medical services.
“With the unfortunate dissolving of the CCARS, the City is now looking at utilizing the existing building space to meet and accommodate the fire department’s growth needs,” said Director of Public Works, George Morrissey.
Since there isn’t an EMS operation being housed in the city at this time, Morrissey noted during the Oct. 16 special meeting that a question arose regarding how to use the building that the rescue crew and the fire department formerly shared: “What do we do with the rest of it?”
Local leaders came up with an answer that fit with the conversation they have been having for the last few years since they recognized the fire department’s needs for more room, said Morrissey. They have been discussing how Cuba City could potentially accommodate.
“Equipment is getting bigger,” said Morrissey. “The need for additional equipment, and a near full roster for the fire department, warranted conversations on potential expansion or a new facility.”
So with extra space now available at the fire and rescue building due to there no longer being a rescue service stationed in town, using the whole facility to house the fire department was the only viable option the Board of Public Works discussed, said Morrissey.
Common Council members approved the plan to give the fire department use of the full building without dissent during their brief Oct. 16 meeting.
On a day-to-day basis, this decision, “will not change the operations of the Fire Department,” said Morrissey, “(But) it will certainly give the Fire Department more operational room for their equipment and trainings.”
Along with this update to how the building is used, “We are looking at potential upgrades to the existing building to improve the overall efficiency, aesthetics and the practical use of the facilities,” added Morrissey.
A hope is to make it last a long time into the future with these modifications.
“We are confident that we can successfully do improvements to extend the life of a 30-year-old building, to meet the City’s and Fire Department’s needs for another 30 years,” he said.
