FARGO – After a year-long closure to reconstruct and renovate Fire Station 5, the Fargo Fire Department officially moved back into the station earlier this week.
“The closure followed an engineering assessment that found structural issues caused by shifting ground beneath the building,” the department posted on Facebook. “The structural issues, along with needs to modernize Station 5, led the Fargo Fire Department to undertake the project, which involved rebuilding the living quarters and upgrading other parts of the building.”
During the closure, the department’s operations were moved to multiple locations – another fire station in the city before its final destination at the West Fargo Fire Department.
“The Fargo Fire Department wants to express its gratitude to the West Fargo Fire Department for allowing Fargo firefighters to live in and operate out of their main fire station,” the department said. “West Fargo’s assistance helped ensure uninterrupted emergency services for community residents.”
The project at Station 5, which came in under budget, includes a newly constructed storage room for structural firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) that vents carcinogens out of the station, generator serving the entire station, updated energy efficient heating and lighting, a fire sprinkler system, City fiber internet connection to the building, decontamination area with commercial extractor, washer/dryer, bathroom and shower on the apparatus floor, entry vestibules with handwashing stations and living quarters that include individual sleeping rooms, gender-neutral bathroom facilities, a fitness area, firefighter computer work stations and a new station alerting system.
