After experimenting with individual bedrooms, the Hutchinson Fire Department is returning to what works best for it with a new fire station at the intersection of Avenue E and Walnut Street.
The new Fire Station No. 3 will have bunk rooms, with beds for multiple firefighters. Deputy Chief Doug Hanen said Tuesday that the department has found bunk rooms for multiple firefighters help team cohesion.
Workers with Nunns Construction are finishing up some final pieces of the station, but Hanen said he expects firefighters’ first day in the new station will be Monday. An open house for the public will occur sometime in October.
The station will house two fire companies, one operating a ladder truck and the other operating a pumper engine. The station also will have a brush truck, a tanker truck with a 2,500-gallon tank and a rescue trailer.
The two fire companies generally will have three people per shift, with three shifts rotating through the station, so at least 18 people will work at the station. The station can handle double that amount if needed in the future, Hanen said.