By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Now that the city of Hays has an additional revenue stream through its share of the Ellis County sales tax, plans are moving ahead for building another fire station.
It's been discussed since the 1990s with different locations considered.
There are two fire stations in Hays. The primary location is downtown in City Hall at 1507 Main and serves as department headquarters.
The second station is at the Hays Regional Airport. It's a Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) facility required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and is staffed only during commercial aviation operations.
However, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the firefighters were split between the two facilities to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the first responders.
It became apparent both locations could be staffed full-time with existing staff.
The new station, which would also serve as department headquarters, is planned for 41st Street and Post Road, where the city owns a three-acre tract of land to protect a city water well.
Residential and commercial growth is fastest in the northwest part of Hays, according to Collin Bielser, asst. city manager.
A fire station at 41st Street would improve the response time to that area and also enhance the city's ISO fire rating.
Chief Ryan Hagans also likes the idea of a more spacious headquarters.
"It's crowded in our apparatus bay. All of our personal protection equipment has to be stored in the bay and our fire trucks are stacked," Hagans told Hays city commissioners.
"In the event the front fire truck doesn't start for whatever reason, the one behind it can't get out of the station because of the way the roof structure is designed with center support columns.
"The new station would be designed to be wide open and be utilized as a true drive-through."
The downtown fire station does not have a true decontamination room, Hagans pointed out.
"Firefighters and police officers, we have the potential to be exposed to harmful chemicals at any time.
"By having a dedicated room, we can clean our gear better. It would have a shower in there. Getting those chemicals washed off would prevent bringing that stuff back into our living quarters."
Right now, Ryan said if a firefighter or police officer is exposed to toxic elements on the job, "we'll probably just wash them off there on the scene, bring them back here to the apparatus bay and wash them off again."
The new station would include private bunk rooms with lockers and private bathrooms with showers, making it more gender-inclusive.
Hagans said the current station on Main Street would become the fire department substation and would be remodeled for privacy in the living areas. The fire department's office area would be freed up for other uses in the city hall.
The 21 full-time Hays firefighters work a rotating 24-hour shift, followed by 48 hours off. They conduct many non-emergency activities, including building fire safety inspections.
Firefighters are required to pass an annual physical and therefore are provided the time to work out daily. The workout room in the new facility would be available for use by all public safety employees of the city, Hagans said.
"This is a great benefit for us."
The downtown location, which also houses the city's IT system, is prone to flooding. The IT equipment would be moved to the new proposed location.
Firms on the short list of requests for qualifications and proposals are scheduled to be notified Monday.
After reviews, Bielser anticipates a recommended award of contract to be presented to the city commission in late August or early September.
In 2020, Ellis County voters approved a ¼ cent sales tax which will result in the city of Hays receiving approximately $700,000 to $900,000 in annual revenue for a period of 10 years.
The city commission has already chosen to dedicate some of the funds to quality of life projects such as the ARC Park parking lot and enhancements at the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex.
"We've already addressed quality-of-life.... I think this is a safety-of-life issue and we need to pursue it," said Michael Berges, commissioner.
The Ellis County Commission has dedicated a portion of its sales tax revenues to improvements in the county's emergency medical services.
"I think this goes hand-in-hand with that," Berges added.