Fire Chief Ryan Simmons Gives Update on the New Fire Facility

City Manager Clint Langreck, Fire Chief Ryan Simmons, and Optimist President Bob Hundhausen

Fire Chief Ryan Simmons spoke about the Platteville Fire Department and the new fire facility being built. Chief Simmons mentioned that the department has 52 volunteer fire fighters. The department covers the City of Platteville and 7 or parts of 7 Townships. The current station was built in 1964. With the advance of technology and just the size of the new fire trucks being built, the current station does not meet the needs of the department. Currently the trucks are parked according to how they fit in the station rather than response needs.

Another example of how the department has outgrown the current station is the washing and cleaning their turnout gear. They have only 1 washer/dryer or "extractor" unit and it takes 2 hours to wash and another 2 hours to dry a single set of gear. The new facility will be able to do 7 sets at a time. The current station has no shower facility or a means in which firefighters can decontaminate themselves after a fire. With the types of materials being used in structures or dwellings these days there are more contaminates within the structure causing a real need to be able to decontaminate firefighters after being inside a structure during a fire. New facility will have showers and a decon area with lockers to allow firefighter to shower and have a change of clothes at the station.

The new facility will allow for many in-house training areas for better hands-on training. It will also have 7 doom-rooms or living quarters to house firefighters if or when full time firefighters become needed. Chief Simmons spoke about the use of mutual aid at a fire which means they can call other departments for help. He explained how a MAVUS system works where they have a pre-determined responses planned out depending upon the need at the scene.

The new station is progressing according to schedule with completion expected in the fall of 2026.