Lindsey breaks ground for new fire station

LINDSEY – The Lindsey Volunteer Fire Department broke ground Sunday on its new fire station, after local officials raised more than $1 million in a year-long capital campaign to finance the new building.

Deputy Chief Jason Conklin said demolition would start on the existing station in the middle of April, with completion of the new fire building scheduled for November.

Conklin said the department had rented a building on Sandusky County Road 69 to house its fire trucks until the construction of the new facility was completed.

The department started a capital campaign in January 2014 and raised more than $1 million for the new station.

“We actually thought it would take a little longer,” Conklin said.

Conklin, the capital campaign chairman, said that the capital campaign involved all private donations, with not tax dollars being used to pay for the new building. There were 151 donors that contributed to the capital campaign.

GW Contractors will be the general contractor for the new station project.

The existing fire station building was built in 1897 and has served as a fire station for about 75 years. It had posed a lot of challenges to the fire department, including undersized vehicle bays, an outdated heating system and no backup power system.

Assistant Fire Chief Dave Zimmerman said the new station would include a public community room that can be used for meetings and would have a wheelchair lift.

He said the station also functions as an American Red Cross shelter.

“We want to make sure that everything we have is accessible to the public,” Zimmerman said.

Conklin said that although the department had reached its fundraising goal, it was also still raising money for assorted furnishings for the new station.

dacarson@gannett.com

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