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WOOD RIVER - Wood River City Council members recognized two firefighters for their 30 years of service and a third firefighter for his academic achievements at their meeting on Monday. The city will also seek bids for an extension to the city’s fire station to give the department more room for storage, engine bays, and more.
Mayor Tom Stalcup presented Plaques of Appreciation to Captain Leonard Revelle and Captain Brian Crawford for their 30 years of service to the Wood River Fire Department. The mayor presented both with their plaques before taking photos and commending them for their service.
“I cannot imagine that these two guys within 30 years of service to the city of Wood River have not touched everybody's life in this room,” Stalcup said.
“With congratulations from me and from the City of Wood River, thank you for everything you’ve done, and I hope the next phases of your life are as rewarding as what you’ve done for us in the past 30 years, thank you.”
Stalcup also recognized another of the city’s firefighters, Tyler Staicoff, for successfully completing several hours of educational, medical, and leadership training, having also completed a nationally accredited program in EMS systems and a written paramedic exam.
“The city commends firefighter Steichoff on the completion of 665 instructional hours of education and 500 hours of cynical, practical, and team lead time completed in both medical facilities and fields,” Stalcup said. “The city is grateful for your dedication to the citizens of Wood River on this date.”
In related news, council members also gave approval to start the process of seeking bids for the “Fire Department Addition” project. The project, which was initially estimated at about $330,000 for the storage area only, also comes with possible “alternative” additions which may be accepted or rejected as the bid process and project goes forward.
Fire Chief Wade Stahlhut said the current fire station building is nearly 40 years old and that the department has to store certain equipment off-site due to the lack of space (including firefighting foam, which must be stored in a climate-controlled environment). Even this is a temporary solution, as current storage locations may not be available in the near future. One of his goals with the extension is to bring all of that equipment under one roof for quick and easy access in case of an emergency.
“The original plan was for this to be a storage facility,” Stahlhut said. “We’ve grown out of our fire station to the point where we have assets that are being stored at different locations throughout the city … one of the concerns is bringing all those assets onto city property. This will allow us to do the majority of that.”
Stahlhut added that the bids include the base bid for the storage area and optional additions of an engine bay, an exhaust fan with a louver system for ventilation, and a third possible addition of a window to the Fire Chief’s office, depending on the bid amounts that are received.
Ultimately, the City Council voted unanimously to approve the department's request to seek bids for the Fire Department Addition. Councilman David Ayres was absent from the meeting.
A full recording of the Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story, on the Riverbender.com Facebook page, or on Riverbender.com/video.
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