
James Mayse
Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
(TNS)
The crews assigned to Owensboro Fire Department’s Station 3 moved into their temporary station at the corner of Omega Street and Lancaster Avenue in August.
The facility is an old city Public Works building, and had some immediate advantages, such as large bays for vehicles and space for living and sleeping areas.
There was also the matter that the city already owned the building, Chief James Howard said.
The building “fit the parameters we needed, and since the city already owned it, it was a bonus to the taxpayers because we didn’t have to lease it,” Howard said.
The facility, which is across the street from Dugan Best Recreation Center, is housing the Station 3 crews until the new Station 3 on Cravens Avenue is complete in the first quarter of 2026.
The city is replacing Station 3, and is planning to also replace station 1. Station 2 has already undergone a major renovation, and the new fire training center at the corner of 14th Street and J.R. Miller Boulevard is nearing completion. The only station not scheduled for work is Station 5, which was built in the early 2000s.
Lt. Andrew Behl, one of the Station 3 commanders, said their temporary home came with space for firefighters to have their own sleeping quarters, which they didn’t have in the old station. That, and separate restrooms, is a help for the crews, which contain men and women firefighters.
The building is designed in a way where the fire crews have to go through a long hallway to reach the vehicle bays.
The response time is monitored by a counter in the bay.
“Everybody can get out the door in 20 seconds,” Behl said.
Response time is affected slightly by change of location, largely due to stop signs in the neighborhoods, Behl said.
“If we’re going to Lee Manor, we are probably adding 30 seconds” to the travel time, Behl said.
Howard said when officials were looking for a temporary Station 3, response time was a factor.
“Part of it is you want to take a data-driven approach,” Howard said. “You look at our response times, and how to preserve them.”
Station 3 has a good response time on the city’s northwest side, Howard said.
“It’s a neighborhood station,” Howard said. “In the end, (the temporary station) is a very well-placed station for our model.”
The building was outfitted with the fire department’s alert systems, and additional work was done to clean up the building and install kitchen space. The building also has common areas and space for exercise equipment in one of the vehicle bays.
“Some of the stuff has been an upgrade,” Behl said, and that the individual sleeping areas and restrooms “are friendly to both genders.”
The building has “oodles of space,” which is also a difference from the old station, Behl said.
“For a long time at (Station 3), the treadmill was in the bathroom,” he said.
There are also some odds and ends in the Omega Street facility. The city uses parts of the building for storage, a large number of Christmas lights are stored there, along with the fire department’s vintage 1926 fire engine. A city bucket truck is there as well, along with other items like boxes of light bulbs, an old washing machine and items from other city departments.
“It’s kind of like the Island of Misfit Toys,” Behl said.
The crews brought items from the old Station 3.
The front desk area has the old Station 3 lettering on the wall, and the place is adorned with photos and items from the now-demolished station.
“We tried to make it feel more like a station and a home,” Behl said.
Howard and Behl both said firefighters are generally happy with the Omega Street station.
“There aren’t a whole lot of complaints about moving here … especially, in your mind’s eye (we know) we’re going to have a Taj Mahal showpiece we are going to move into” when the new Station 3 is complete next year, Behl said.
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