Columbia city leaders to discuss replacement of Fire Station No. 5

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia city leaders are hosting a meeting Wednesday evening over the proposed replacement of Fire Station No. 5 on Ballenger Lane.

The meeting will be from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 1C of City Hall and is open to the public.

Fire Station 5 was built in 1971 and is the third busiest station in the city. The only busier stations are located downtown and Fire Station 2 on Worley Street. The station is also one of the oldest in the city, with several structural issues and cannot support current operations, according to officials.

In September, the city council approved allocating $5 million of the budget to replace the station. There is no current timeline for how long it will take to build the station.

The plan is to build the new station in the same location, located on Ballenger Lane, but adjacent to the old station. The current fire station will still be used while the new station is being built. 

The new fire station plans to have increased technology, auxiliary lighting, fire sprinklers, and individual dorms for firefighters, things that the current station lacks. 

The current station is located near a coal mine, and the deteriorating and sinking conditions of the station are taking a toll on firefighters, who have to spend time documenting and repairing the station.

ABC 17 News took a tour of the fire station in August and noticed several cracks in walls and floors, broken windows and brown spots on ceiling panels that were created from a build-up of humidity.

The fire department also deals with discolored water coming from its sink and ice, as well as low water pressure that can become problematic when filling up their fire trucks.