New Fire Station Proposed For Auburn

AUBURN – The Auburn City Council agreed Monday to pursue official drawings for a new fire station.

City Councilman Jeff Jeanneret said the Auburn and rural fire departments, as well as the rescue squad, have outgrown the current, 8,000-square-foot facility.

Jeanneret: “It’s crammed in there. We don’t have any room for expansion on the current building.”

He said the city is applying for a grant through the federal Economic Development Administration for relief related to the flooding of 2019.

 

Jeanneret: “What we’re going to try and do is tie this together with Highway 75, where Highway 75 was the main detour when Interstate 29 was closed due to the flooding.”

City Councilman Tom Clark said the location of the new fire station should be outside of the residential district and near a major highway to promote swift response.

Jeanneret said he hopes a new station is available within the decade.

Jeanneret: “It would be nice, you know, but like I said we’re trying to explore all areas that we can for funding to make it a reality.”

The  history of the Auburn fire service runs parallel to the histories of the towns of Sheridan and Calvert that eventually united to form Auburn in 1882.

Old fire stations were formerly located on the courthouse square and a parcel where city hall now stands.

Clark said the two fire departments knew well the boundaries. “If you were south you stayed south and same for the north. There wasn’t any crossing over,” he said.

Nemaha Valley Museum  historian Maxine Schatz said Hose Company No. 1  and the Auburn Hose Company disputed who was first, but they set aside difference to form the Auburn Fire Department in 1911.

On Monday, the city agreed to request qualifications for a company that could help guide construction of a new fire station.