JACKSON, Wyo. — In lieu of cutting a shiny ribbon, and in common tradition of the fire service, Mayor Haley Morton-Levinson cut through a fire hose this afternoon in celebration of the new Jackson Hole Fire/ EMS Station 1 on East Pearl Ave.
“This has been a long, long process to get here and we are grateful for all of the partners that helped us get to this point,” said Fire Chief Brady Hansen.
Dialogue about a new fire station began in 2010. In 2012, a consultant was hired and this fire station was identified as an “immediate need,” Hansen said. With a new building, Hansen and his team are committed to serving the community with up to date resources.
“Jackson Hole Fire/ EMS has a great need for a building that serves the community. Station 1 is really a headquarters station for the entire county and any major incident happening in this county has resources coming out of this fire station without fail. That’s why it’s essential.”
Fire Chief Brady Hansen
Hansen added that the old building was not sizably strong and simply didn’t meet the needs and functionality of the fire department.
While initially the idea for the firehouse was a renovation, it became a reality that a renovation wouldn’t be possible with the amount of changes needed.
Now, a new building stands on 60 East Pearl Avenue.
The first floor boasts a brand new state of the art fire station. Traveling up a level to the second floor, there are three bedrooms for responders on night duty, a large kitchen and a common area which doubles as a living room. On the third, a roof top deck with solar panels.
This building is drastically more efficient than its predecessor, says Hansen.
“It took a huge team of people working together tirelessly to make [this] conversion.”
In his remarks, Hansen made it a point that as this building was made possible by funding from SPET tax. It is a building for the community.
“Fire stations are public buildings. They should be used by the public for every opportunity we can. Above and beyond fire station use, so the opporunity for events ought to out there. This building and this equipment is owned by the community and ought to be used for a variety of uses.”
Fire Chief Brady Hansen
“Our commitment now to you is we will continue to serve out of this building for generations to come in a very effective building that is designed and built extremely well,” Hansen said.
Mayor Haley Morton-Levinson shared her own excitement about the project’s completion.
“It’s very exciting and rewarding to see this come to fruition,” said Morton-Levinson.
“We think back on the budget restraints or headaches that come with a project like this but really what I focus on is today, and the building that we have, the safety for our community and moving forward.”
