Edwardsville’s new East Fire Station to prioritize efficiency and safety

The City of Edwardsville’s newest fire station will include environmentally efficient innovations and be built in the heart of Edwardsville’s growing eastern corridor.

The $5.1 million East Fire Station will be located on nearly two acres of land the city purchased last year on the north side of Governors Parkway, east of Oglesby Drive and District Drive. It’s near the City’s Interstate 55 corridor, an area that has seen tremendous residential and commercial growth.

“Being located on Governors Parkway is a huge plus,” Fire Chief James Whiteford said, noting the location facilitates quick access to multiple routes in the City.

The site is a response to growth that is trending toward the eastern areas of the City and helps ensure that Edwardsville’s public safety, fire and paramedic services are strategically positioned now and in the future.

“The East Fire Station will encompass 8,400 square feet of space and include three double bays to house multiple trucks and ambulances,” Whiteford added.

It will include environmentally smart features, such as solar panels to offset electricity costs; radiant floor heating to more efficiently and quickly warm the bays and to dry wet equipment, and bi-fold bay doors that open and close in about a third of the time to speed emergency egress and limit building heat loss.

The facility will add to the City’s wide-reaching capabilities, joining the SIUE Campus station, which opened in November 2016, and the Fire Department headquarters at the Edwardsville Public Safety Building, which opened in November 2017 at 333 South Main Street.

“This station is an important addition for the health and safety of the City and its residents,” Mayor Art Risavy said.

The City expects to break ground at the site this fall and open the facility in 2024. Once opened, it will replace Station 2 on Montclaire Avenue, a smaller facility that opened in 1969.

The $5.1 million bid from Morrissey Construction was approved by the City Council at its Aug. 2 meeting. The East Fire Station project will be paid for through a dedicated sales tax approved in 2014 for public safety facilities.

Image of planned East Fire Station provided by the City of Edwardsville