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Tusayan Fire Station<br>project finally arrives

Glancing out of Ann Wren’s office window at Quality Inn and Suites, physical evidence that the Tusayan Fire Station project is becoming a reality can be seen. It’s been a long and arduous process for Wren and the fire district board.

Contractors tear down an existing structure on Red Feather property to make room for the new fire station.

"I’m extremely relieved," Wren said about the project’s beginnings, which involves the demolition of an old dormitory structure. "I had no idea it was going to turn into this lengthy of a process."

The Tusayan Fire Station is currently housed in a structure on Elling Halvorson property. Halvorson has allowed the department to remain there rent-free since 1997, paying only the utilities. After a move across the highway, the new fire station will be a state-of-the-art facility with first-rate training accommodations for its firefighters.

"We are very excited, we’re over there all the time to look at it," fire chief Robbie Evans said. "It’s been a long process, going on since 1998. They did a lot of work on financing."

Indeed, Wren could probably go on for hours concerning all of the financing avenues that were explored to get the new fire station project going. In the end, Red Feather Properties came to the rescue with a lease package over 25 years.

"The fire district is such a great thing for the safety of Tusayan," Red Feather’s Clarinda Vail said. "Red Feather was happy to provide it ... we’re glad to see it will be right off the main road."

Red Feather’s agreement with the fire district not only includes the 25-year terms, but at a "highly, highly reduced lease," Vail said.

"I want to extend a big thank-you to Red Feather Properties for extending this property to the fire district," Wren said. "It’s a great service to the community."

Vail said Wren’s efforts on the project are unparalleled.

"I can’t reiterate how many hours she’s put in on this," Vail said, "hours and hours and hours."

The Red Feather lease package was called the "last resort" during a fire district meeting last year. Prior to the agreement being finalized, the fire district attempted several times to work something out with the U.S. Forest Service.

The new fire station will not only house firefighters, but also Guardian Medical Transport’s ambulance service. Currently, Guardian employees work out of their housing units. Plans also call for a Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce office and a Coconino County Sheriff’s Department substation, currently located in a trailer at the airport. Basically, Tusayan’s emergency services will come together to be housed in a common structure.

The station will feature 2 1/2 bays for emergency equipment, enough room so trucks don’t have to be pulled out into the parking lot all the time.

"It will be nice to have that facility," Evans said. "We’ll have an actual training room and we won’t have to pull out all of our equipment. There will even be a patio on the north end with a barbecue grill."

Response times are expected to improve with the new facility. Firefighters will be staffed there around the clock, since there will be accommodations on site. Plans call for both male and female quarters. The department currently has two full-time paid employees.

The Tusayan Fire Department has grown substantially in recent years. With wildland firefighting playing a bigger role, the department may be obtaining more equipment in the near future.

The district can not only help other areas of the state in times of crisis, but bring in some nice paychecks. Last year on an eight-day assignment at the Rodeo-Chediski fire, Tusayan brought in $18,000.

Cody LTD out of Cornville is the contractor on the fire station. Original plans called for the project to be staged over the winter months, but because of financing delays, things have moved into the summer. Wren estimated construction will last from now into October.


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