EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville area residents will have the opportunity to see their newest public safety investment this weekend when the Department hosts a ribbon cutting and open house at Fire Station No. 3 on the SIUE campus this Saturday, April 22. The ceremony will begin at 9:00 a.m. with an open house and tours following until 11 a.m.
“Operations from Station 3 actually started on Veteran’s Day last fall, but we wanted to make sure that everything was in order and the building polished up for everyone to see before we formally opened,” said Edwardsville Fire Chief Rick Welle.
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“The addition of a third station to serve the needs of the western corridor of the city – including SIUE – has already resulted in a huge improvement in our response times. In this business, both fire and EMS, time is one of the most critical factors in our overall success.”
Station 3 was designed to house up to four firefighters. “The station is staffed 24/7 with at least two firefighter/paramedics, and will house one to two ambulances, a truck and other equipment as we see fit,” according to Welle.
Chief Welle explained that the station is situated on the SIUE campus as part of a long-term intergovernmental agreement with the University. The cost of the building was borne by the City of Edwardsville. Personnel respond to the campus and Edwardsville’s western distribution corridor along I-255, including Gateway Commerce and Lakeview Corporate Centers, as well as other emergencies in the City.
According to Chief Welle, call volume has been on the rise every year over the past decade. “In 2016, call volume was up nearly 10 percent from the previous year. That follows a 7 percent increase in calls in 2015. The city is thriving. We definitely needed to expand to provide the services this community deserves,” he said.
The 8,400-square-foot facility is located a 783 Northwest University Drive on the SIUE campus (directly under the campus water tower). It was designed by FGM Architects, Inc., out of O’Fallon and built by L. Wolf Construction of Granite City.
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