Southern Stone County Fire Protection District to build
new fire station in Kimberling City
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Kadee Brosseau DeCourley
The Southern Stone County Fire Protection District is expanding to help meet the growing needs of the Table Rock Lake area.
The district will soon begin construction on a new 14,350 square-foot station on Business 13 in Kimberling City, next to the department’s current maintenance building. The plans for the expansion have been about three years in the making.
“The Board of Directors has approved the construction of a new fire station, which will cover the Kimberling City area and expand the number of career firefighters in our district,” Southern Stone County Fire Chief Keith Wolven said.
The number of emergency calls that the district receives has increased to about 3,000 calls per year in recent years. About one-third of those calls come from Station 2’s area. Currently, Station 2 is located off James River Road in Kimberling City and is one of the fire department’s oldest stations. At this time, it is not staffed around-the-clock.
“The entire district covers 280 square miles of Southern Stone County. We have 14 stations. Counting the two boats at their docks, we have 16 locations,” Chief Wolven said. “[The Kimberling City area] is a highly-populated area. There are a lot of calls in that area.”
The new station will cost about $2 million. The district will finance half of that cost and use funds from the capital expense fund for the other half.
“That’s a pretty good price tag for a building, but the station is conservative. It’s not a Taj Mahal, with frills and bells and whistles, and stamped concrete,” Chief Wolven explained. “It’s a functional fire station, but it is built for what we think we will need in the foreseeable future. These bays are bigger. They’re a little longer; they’re a little taller. Firetrucks are getting bigger and getting longer.”
Chief Wolven said the national average for a new fire station’s cost is between $190 and $250 per square foot. However, the estimated cost for Station 2 is about $125 per square foot.
“We are very cognizant of the money that we have that the taxpayers give us. So, we want to make sure we are getting the best bang for the buck,” Chief Wolven said.
The district has also cut down on building costs by constructing the station on a property it already owns. Chief Wolven said the septic system on the property had been redone in the last couple of years, and recent work has allowed for electricity to be more easily moved.
“We have already done quite a bit of infrastructure work there,” Chief Wolven said.
Not only will the new facility be large enough to house more modern fire equipment, but it will also house full-time firefighters, making it the district’s second 24-hour staffed station. Station 2 will have one paid firefighter per shift. Station 1, the main station in Branson West, currently has two paid firefighters per shift.
“With the addition of paid people there, then yes, it likely will [impact response times],” Chief Wolven said.
The station will have living quarters, showers, and a kitchen available for full-time firefighters. However, volunteers will be encouraged to use the facility, as well.
“Volunteers are great, and they are the lifeblood of what Southern Stone County Fire does,” Chief Wolven said.
“We’ve tried to create the ability for having a kitchen, having the showers, having the sleeping quarters. So, it’s not only the career side; we want to also make sure that the volunteers have that opportunity that if they wanted to come in and spend the night, they’re more than welcome to do that,” Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moore said.
The district plans to hire three additional firefighters, initially, to staff the new station. Those firefighters may already be familiar with the department and the area.
“Every one of the career firefighters that we currently have came from our volunteer side,” Chief Wolven said.
The district provides training and certification to its volunteers as well as its career firefighters. So, current volunteers will likely have the skills and training to equip them for one of the new paid positions.
“We are certainly helping provide opportunities to our own members who feel like they want to become career firefighters. We can help with that. Now, they have the opportunity to be a firefighter full time here, in their own home area,” Moore said.
District leaders say construction on the project will begin soon.
“The estimated time from the contractor on the completion date is 240 days from the time they start. In that time frame, in theory, it should be done this year sometime,” Chief Wolven said.
The Southern Stone County Fire Protection District is expanding to help meet the growing needs of the Table Rock Lake area.
The district will soon begin construction on a new 14,350 square-foot station on Business 13 in Kimberling City, next to the department’s current maintenance building. The plans for the expansion have been about three years in the making.
“The Board of Directors has approved the construction of a new fire station, which will cover the Kimberling City area and expand the number of career firefighters in our district,” Southern Stone County Fire Chief Keith Wolven said.
The number of emergency calls that the district receives has increased to about 3,000 calls per year in recent years. About one-third of those calls come from Station 2’s area. Currently, Station 2 is located off James River Road in Kimberling City and is one of the fire department’s oldest stations. At this time, it is not staffed around-the-clock.
“The entire district covers 280 square miles of Southern Stone County. We have 14 stations. Counting the two boats at their docks, we have 16 locations,” Chief Wolven said. “[The Kimberling City area] is a highly-populated area. There are a lot of calls in that area.”
The new station will cost about $2 million. The district will finance half of that cost and use funds from the capital expense fund for the other half.
“That’s a pretty good price tag for a building, but the station is conservative. It’s not a Taj Mahal, with frills and bells and whistles, and stamped concrete,” Chief Wolven explained. “It’s a functional fire station, but it is built for what we think we will need in the foreseeable future. These bays are bigger. They’re a little longer; they’re a little taller. Firetrucks are getting bigger and getting longer.”
Chief Wolven said the national average for a new fire station’s cost is between $190 and $250 per square foot. However, the estimated cost for Station 2 is about $125 per square foot.
“We are very cognizant of the money that we have that the taxpayers give us. So, we want to make sure we are getting the best bang for the buck,” Chief Wolven said.
The district has also cut down on building costs by constructing the station on a property it already owns. Chief Wolven said the septic system on the property had been redone in the last couple of years, and recent work has allowed for electricity to be more easily moved.
“We have already done quite a bit of infrastructure work there,” Chief Wolven said.
Not only will the new facility be large enough to house more modern fire equipment, but it will also house full-time firefighters, making it the district’s second 24-hour staffed station. Station 2 will have one paid firefighter per shift. Station 1, the main station in Branson West, currently has two paid firefighters per shift.
“With the addition of paid people there, then yes, it likely will [impact response times],” Chief Wolven said.
The station will have living quarters, showers, and a kitchen available for full-time firefighters. However, volunteers will be encouraged to use the facility, as well.
“Volunteers are great, and they are the lifeblood of what Southern Stone County Fire does,” Chief Wolven said.
“We’ve tried to create the ability for having a kitchen, having the showers, having the sleeping quarters. So, it’s not only the career side; we want to also make sure that the volunteers have that opportunity that if they wanted to come in and spend the night, they’re more than welcome to do that,” Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moore said.
The district plans to hire three additional firefighters, initially, to staff the new station. Those firefighters may already be familiar with the department and the area.
“Every one of the career firefighters that we currently have came from our volunteer side,” Chief Wolven said.
The district provides training and certification to its volunteers as well as its career firefighters. So, current volunteers will likely have the skills and training to equip them for one of the new paid positions.
“We are certainly helping provide opportunities to our own members who feel like they want to become career firefighters. We can help with that. Now, they have the opportunity to be a firefighter full time here, in their own home area,” Moore said.
District leaders say construction on the project will begin soon.
“The estimated time from the contractor on the completion date is 240 days from the time they start. In that time frame, in theory, it should be done this year sometime,” Chief Wolven said.