Uniontown firehouse nearing completion

UNIONTOWN -- A new, much-needed fire station in Uniontown is nearing completion and could be operational soon.

Construction on the 6,000-square-foot facility, located near the corner of Fifth Street and Sherman, should wrap up in the next few days, just in time for an upcoming final inspection of the building by Kansas Department of Commerce and Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission officials, Uniontown City Clerk Bonnie George said.

"All of the major work is done, now we've just got some little things to take care of," George said. "I think we'll be done by May 30."

George said that some minor touch-up work, including painting and caulking, as well as other minor installation projects still need to be done on the building in the next few days.

The new 100-foot by 60-foot fire station, which will be used by rural fire and first response personnel in Bourbon County, is being built entirely by local volunteers, and is being financed through a $384,719 Kansas Small Town Environment Program (KAN STEP) grant the city of Uniontown received in 2006 from the Kansas Department of Commerce. Volunteers are contributing about $268,500 in labor services for the project. The total cost of the facility is $653,219.

Uniontown officials received an extension on the grant project in January, and have until Friday to complete construction on the building before SEK RPC grant administrator Sandy Erbe and KDOC representative Salih Doughramaji conduct a final inspection of the building on June 5, George said.

The station is expected to be a major asset to the city of Uniontown, and for a group of rural firefighters in Bourbon County District No. 3 who had been working for several years out of a smaller, aging, dilapidated fire station near Uniontown City Hall, local resident and four-year rural firefighter Mike Vanzant said.

"I've been really impressed (with the building)," Vanzant said. "It's (the station) more organized is what it is, and that's a big thing. We've got room for more trucks and there are more doors to get out of."

Vanzant is also one of the many local volunteers who has contributed labor to the construction of the new fire station. Vanzant added that all District No. 3 firefighters representing the towns of Uniontown, Hiattville, Bronson, Mapleton, Devon and Fulton, will be able to use the completed facility for their daily job duties and to participate in periodic fire and first response training courses.

The new station is expected to also improve response time for rural firefighters and emergency responders during crisis situations. The building will contain three fire truck bays, one ambulance bay, a large meeting room, a training room, a kitchen, an upper deck, and several storage rooms.

Uniontown city officials applied for the KAN STEP grant in 2005, and received the grant in early 2006. Construction on the facility began that summer. Dan Hall of B G Consultants in Manhattan is the architect for the project. The Kansas Rural Water Association provided inspection services and technical assistance during the building's construction phase.

The KAN STEP program has successfully used volunteer assistance to help small communities reduce the costs of water or sewer systems, community and senior centers, and fire stations. The program helps small communities save money on expensive community improvement projects, the KRWA Website said. The Kansas program is the only one in the United States that is constructing buildings through the program.

As of January, KAN STEP has completed 45 projects, with 14 projects under contract or in the construction phase. The total value of all completed projects under the program is a little more than $17 million. Because local people donate labor to build the facilities, that cost has been reduced to about $9.8 million for an overall average cost reduction of 43.8 percent, the site said.

More information on the KAN STEP program can be found online at www.krwa.net.