Fire station closes, memories remain; new station opens

• Several retired firefighters visited the old fire station one final time on Tuesday.
• Firefighters began operating out of the new $3.8 million fire station Wednesday morning.

NEWARK – Retired and current Newark firefighters recognize the time has come to replace the downtown station, but that doesn't mean they're happy to see it go.

Firefighters began operating out of the city's new $3.8 million, 16,300-square-foot downtown fire station Wednesday morning.

Several retired firefighters joined current members of the department Tuesday night for the final hours of operation at the old station, opened in 1959, at 75 S. Fourth St.

Capt. Doug Vermaaten, a second-generation firefighter, said he has spent about six of his 18 years at the downtown station, which will soon be demolished.

"There's a lot of memories in there," Vermaaten said. "There's a mystique about the history of the firehouse, and that's going to be gone."

Capt. Ron Walsh, a Newark firefighter who started at the downtown station as a medic 38 years ago, spent much of Tuesday night at the old station, not touring the new one.

Walsh said he hopes the extra space in the new building does not diminish interaction among firefighters.

"The station is just a building, but it kind of holds the memories of the things people did," Walsh said. "I spent quite a few years here. Good times and bad times, but you tend to forget the bad times."

What about seeing the shiny, new building next door?

"I figure I'll see it when I'm in it," Walsh said.

The old station didn't just have firefighters, but dispatchers also worked out of the station before the Licking County 911 Center opened.

Retired firefighters John Freas, Larry Cline, Dick Williams, Greg Keefe and Lori Dixon returned Tuesday night, as did former dispatchers at the station Delores MacNamara and Ruth Ann McCoy.

Dixon, a Newark firefighter from 1979 to 2008, said her grandfather owned the Fourth Street property just before it became a fire station.

"I have a 1957 picture of me in their living room, and 22 years later, I started here as a firefighter," Dixon said.

McCoy, a dispatcher from 1986-2004, said the job was not easy at first.

"For me, it was kind of scary to start with, but I got on to it, and I enjoyed it, knowing I got help to people who needed it," McCoy said.

Tom Jones, a firefighter who retired in 1981, said dispatchers would ring a bell loud enough to notify sleeping firefighters of an emergency.

One time, the dispatcher rang the bell at 3 a.m. after she witnessed a driver crash into the nearby railroad bridge, leaving the car in a vertical position. Amazingly, the driver only suffered a broken nose, Jones said.

Another time, Jones said, the brake released on the aerial ladder truck, which slid down the driveway and across Fourth Street without a driver, but it did not get hit.

The station received the most calls in the city, which made it the most sought-after location, the firefighters said.

"I wanted to be busy," Jones said. "I hated sitting around and always liked helping people."

John Freas, who retired 13 years ago after 23 years as a Newark firefighter, agreed.

"The group of guys I came in with wanted to be here and I didn't have enough seniority," Freas said. "It was the active station. It was where the action was."

Greg Keefe, who retired in 2011 after 31 years, said he has many great memories of working at the downtown station.

"I spent most of my career here," Keefe said. "I had a great time here. We had a blast. We worked hard and played hard.

"You have bad days, but I had a whole lot more good days. Even when you're not on a call, this is your family every third day, sitting around the table talking and bonding with each other."

The building will soon be reduced to rubble, allowing for the remaining exterior work on the new station to be completed.

"I hate to see it, but that's life," Keefe said. "It's progress. Things don't last forever."

Freas added: "It's just bricks and mortar, although I am going to grab some of the old bricks for memories."

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8545

Twitter: @kmallett1958

New fire station

The new 30-room, 16,300-square-foot downtown station opened Wednesday. Some of the building's features include:

•Administrative offices, including for the chief.

•Four-bay, drive-thru apparatus storage area.

•Sleeping quarters for seven firefighters and two supervisors.

•Triage room for walk-ins.

•Three-story training tower.

Source: City of Newark