Emporia’s new Emporia Fire Station 1 is now fully operational and according to City Manager Trey Cocking on the most recent Q&A With Trey, firefighters have settled in well to their new home.
With the move to the new fire station, just across the street from White Auditorium, known for over the last year, there have been a lot of questions as to what will become of the former Station 1 space inside the auditorium. That was one of the main talking points of Tuesday’s Q&A and Cocking says at least a portion of that question has been answered.
He tells KVOE News it appears as though the main apparatus bays are set to be turned into a shared storage space of sorts between Emporia Police and auditorium staff.
As for the main fire department offices and living quarters inside the auditorium, Cocking says future use for those spaces is still up in the air, noting the space has some challenges that have to be traversed.
Cocking did note there have been some discussions on moving different departments to the space, namely, creating a one-stop shop for code enforcement and engineering; however, Cocking says they have not “loved” what they have seen thus far with that possibility, again mentioning the “limitations” the space has. Internal discussions are expected to continue in the coming months.
Cocking says two big questions that have to be answered when it comes to a future use of the space are how often it will be used and whether that use justifies maintaining the space.
With Fire Station 1’s construction now complete, work on upgrading and adding to Fire Station 2 on Industrial Road is now underway. Current plans have that work taking just over a year to complete.
