Aurora is considering renovating Fire Station 3, which still has the same layout as when it was built in 1972.
The project is anticipated to cost around $570,000 and would look to overhaul firefighters’ living quarters, among other things, according to Aurora Assistant Fire Chief Mike Kaufman.
He told the Aurora City Council’s Infrastructure and Technology Committee on Monday that the station at 600 W. Indian Trail was not built for a world where both men and women serve as firefighters, which is the world we are now living in.
“It is the only remaining fire station within the city of Aurora that does not have private, gender-neutral sleeping and bathroom areas for all firefighters,” Kaufman said.
The project would renovate the station’s upstairs, which currently includes a bathroom, locker room and single bunkroom, according to Kaufman. He said the renovation would make it so the station can offer private sleeping areas to all firefighters, as well as separate men’s and women’s locker rooms and showers.
Currently, if a woman were to work at the fire station, she would have to take her belongings from the locker room, down the hall to the bathroom and into one of the stalls to change, since the locker room does not have a door on it, Kaufman said. Plus, only one of the station’s two showers has hot water, he said.
Through the renovation, the ceilings of the men’s and women’s restrooms would be raised both to provide more space and to reduce the risk of mold and mildew, along with other changes intended to make the station more hygienic, Kaufman said.
The renovation project also would add glazing to the station’s windows facing Indian Trail for more privacy and thermal protection, would replace the original and deteriorating laminate countertop in the station’s watch office and would replace the HVAC units that are already scheduled for replacement, he said.
The project would be funded through the Aurora Fire Department’s capital fund, which currently has $550,000 in it, according to Kaufman. Any additional funds needed for the project, he said, would come through the Aurora Fire Department’s general fund for repairs and maintenance of its buildings and grounds.
“I want to make it clear that we’re not asking for any more city funds,” he said. “This is already budgeted money that would come out of the fire department budget if we go over what is expected to be paid for this project.”
The Infrastructure and Technology Committee, without discussion, voted unanimously on Monday to recommend T. Fisher Construction, LLC, of Ingleside for the project. Kaufman said that, through a bidding process, T. Fisher offered the lowest cost that also met the city’s requirements.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
