CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Cedar Rapids recently conducted a study of its nine fire stations. The recommendation is to build four new fire stations to replace the outdated ones.
While this would not increase the total number of stations, the fire chief said it would allow firefighters to better respond to the city’s needs.
Fire Stations 5 on Wilson Avenue Southwest and 6 on Mount Vernon Road Southeast were both built in 1957.
Fire Chief Greg Smith said firefighting has changed since then.
“If you compare a fire truck from 1957 to a fire truck from 2024, you will see a dramatic difference,” Smith said.
Smith said some older facilities have fallen behind because modern firefighting requires a broader range of expertise.
“In 1957, fire trucks were going to fires. Today we go to fires, medical calls and water rescue calls. There are a lot of different things, and we carry a lot more water,” Smith said.
The study recommends relocating two additional fire stations and rebuilding them on new lots: Fire Station Two near the I-380/Highway 30 interchange and Fire Station Eight on Wiley Boulevard Southwest.
The chief says the number of calls these two stations receive is simply not enough to justify keeping them where they are, and relocating them would improve response times.
“We know we need to move two transmitters to better cover our population,” Smith said.
According to Smith, the study also recommended increasing staffing levels in the city’s fire department and providing each firefighter with a second set of equipment.
Fire Chief Smith believes it could take 8 to 10 years to implement these recommendations.
The next step is to develop a budget and a schedule.
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