By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Bronson’s new firehouse on the north end of town has remained unused since construction of the building was completed months ago, but Fire Chief Dennis Russell is hopeful the $1.9 million facility will open by early February.
The delay was caused by the city having to wait for Southeast Drilling, LLC to complete installation of two new wells that supply water to the entire city. The wells were a higher priority than the 12-inch diameter water well for the firehouse.
Russell said the firehouse well is needed to provide water for the firehouse fire suppression system. It will supply 1,000 gallons of water per minute to the firehouse and for filling fire trucks. The city’s water system extends to the Levy County Extension Center next door but lacks the water pressure for a fire suppression system.
The city council and Russell have patiently waited for the drilling company to start work at the firehouse. Drilling has begun but Russell said he doesn’t expect the firehouse to open until early February.
Southeast Drilling, LLC is installing a 20-inch diameter metal well casing around the 12-inch well pipe to protect the pipe from being accidentally damaged.
The firehouse bay is 11,800 square feet with five bays for fire trucks. The bay has 10 doors, five on each side that technically could house 10 fire trucks if the city had that many trucks. Russell wants his fire trucks to exit the building without having to back up and potentially hit something. The doors on the north side of the bay are for exiting the firehouse.
Considering the town doesn’t have a lot of fire trucks at its disposal, the 11,800-square-foot bay has ample space. Russell has talked to Levy County government officials about possibly housing one of their ambulances at the firehouse and using the firehouse for a dual purpose as an EMS Bronson station. He said county officials want to wait a year until they know exactly how much it costs the town to operate the firehouse. Bronson ambulance personnel currently operate out of a doublewide mobile home.
The firehouse has sleeping quarters for the firefighters and a living room for relaxation. It has a large emergency operations center room, a kitchen, unisex bathrooms, and a laundry room. Visitors to the facility will enter through a door facing U.S. 27A. The firehouse bay is built to allow fumes from fire trucks to be released outside the building. The laundry room is also constructed to protect firefighters from chemicals released as bunker gear is washed after fires.
Russell has ordered an electronic sign for the front of the facility. It will be used for messaging the public about fire department functions as well as town events.
The fire chief has held off building a planned training facility and a helicopter pad until he knows how much money is left after the big water well is drilled. He said prices for construction materials used to build the firehouse rose sharply and have impacted his construction budget. The fire suppression well was also unexpected. The city originally thought it could supply water for fire suppression through the nearby city water system pipes for fire suppression but the city’s water system doesn’t meet water pressure requirements.
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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting November 28, 2022; Posted December 5, 2022
