On February 16, 2016 the North Ridgeville City Council voted to approve Mull & Weithman’s contract for the replacement of the main fire station. In November of last year voters approved an $8.1 million bond issue to finance the new station and purchase the land. The City and Fire Department have been seeking to replace the existing fire station including;

• Fire Station #1 was built in 1957 for an all-volunteer fire force serving less than 8,000 residents. In 1967 the department began full-time staffing and in 1981 an addition was added, but still left the station inadequate. More than fifty years later, the station is now serving nearly 32,000 residents.
• Fire Station #1 is the only full-time fire station in Northeast Ohio that is utilizing a mobile home for living space.
• The current station is undersized and has inadequate restroom facilities for the number of staff.
• Firefighter turnout gear storage is non-existent and the station is lacking apparatus space which leaves expensive equipment outside in the weather.
• The station is located 200 feet from one of the city’s busiest intersections with no traffic control devices in place for access/exit from the station.
• The current location is not conducive with the continued growth of the city.
• Fire prevention and training offices are non-existent and the current classroom is makeshift and significantly undersized.
• The station lacks a clean room for medical supplies and equipment, a decontamination room to clean dirty medical equipment and an adequate location to service and fill self-contained breathing apparatus.

The proposed North Ridgeville Fire Station #1 will act as the new headquarters station for North Ridgeville and will contain 21,904 s.f. and be fully ADA compliant. It has been designed as a 2-story structure with a basement to minimize the site footprint. Interior spaces include 4 apparatus bays with adjacent ancillary spaces and administrative offices. Features for training purposes include a 3-story training tower (high angle rescue, hose advancement, rappelling and several sprinkler system training aids) a training classroom, a work-out room for Physical Fitness Training, areas for bailing from mock second floor window openings, and an area for confined space rescue. The second floor will contain the living quarters.