Middletown celebrates opening of new fire station and headquarters

The open houses come at the heels of the city’s announcement of its new fire chief, Brian Wright. Wright has 23 years of experience with Middletown fire and has held the roles of squadperson, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief.

Fire Chief Tom Snively will be retiring in June.

“There’s a lot of people to thank,” Snively said. “This was truly a group effort.”

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

App Architecture, the firm that designed the new stations, presented Snively with a small, 3D-printed replica of the fire headquarters.

The new headquarters includes a fitness center, courtesy of an anonymous donor, a spacious kitchen, a gas grill and Blackstone, a dorm area and a training area.

Middletown Mayor Elizabeth Slamka expressed appreciation to the fire department to the crowd of firefighters, community members and city officials.

“I cannot say enough good things about our firefighters,” she said. “May this ‘home away from home’ serve them well and bring them comfort, camaraderie and good rest so they may be empowered to do their life’s work.”

Fire Station 82 opened in February as the first of four new fire stations in the city.

Two additional stations at Henry Avenue/Charles Street and Sophie Avenue/Stolz Drive are expected to open this year.

When completed, all four of the city’s decades-old fire stations will be replaced. The projected cost for the construction of the four new stations is estimated to be $26.8 million, according to city documents.

Of that, $10.5 million was spent on the headquarters, the largest of the four stations.

Citizens overwhelmingly passed a 1-mill property tax levy to finance the majority of the project.

ESTIMATED COSTS OF BUILDING FOUR FIRE STATIONS

SOURCE: City of Middletown/App Architecture