PHOTOS: The city of Portage’s all-new Fire Station No. 2 went into service this October with a design that takes into account the health and wellness of the firefighters who will use it and offers some unique training opportunities.
The new facility at 6101 Oakland Drive replaces the oldest of three free stations in the city. Fire Station No. 2 is now the largest of the three stations at 18,364 square feet. The old station had a mere 8,000 square feet of space. Portage Fire responds to nearly 6,000 calls a year with station No. 1 and 2 responding to most of the calls. The station is also the closest to I-94 and often deploys the first response team. In 2018, the station responded to 2,154 calls.
The $6.1 million-dollar project was funded through the city’s capital improvement program funds. A 2015 evaluation found that it would be more cost-effective to build a new building rather than renovating the old station, which was built in 1974.