Fort Morgan Fire Dept. station should be completed in Dec.

Fort Morgan Fire Dept. station should be completed in Dec.

Fort Morgan Volunteer Fire Dept. members and supporters broke ground for a new fire station on Fort Morgan Rd. on property adjacent to the current station, marking a momentous occasion for the Fort Morgan community.
“As Fort Morgan grows, the need for expanding the station and its capacity has increased as well,’’ said Fire Chief Craig Rohman. “We welcome this expansion to the area and the many benefits it will bring to the Fort Morgan community.’’
The fire station will be built on a larger parcel, allowing for a larger building with higher ceilings. And it will have direct beach access so trucks will not have to to drive out to Fort Morgan Rd. and circle around in order to respond to beach emergencies.
It will also have a day room, air conditioning, more space for equipment and a design that will allow for apparatus to be driven around the building instead of forcing trucks to back in. The building will also offer a place for emergency staging and a training area and be built to withstand hurricane force winds.
The project has been in the works for almost six years and involves what is basically a land swap with Mark Frohlich, owner of Sassy Bass Amazin’ Grill. The current firehouse sits behind Sassy Bass and Frohlich has purchased the old fire station building to expand his restaurant and sold a much larger lot he owns to the fire dept. Construction is expected to be completed in December.
“We have been working on this for five-and-a-half years with nine government agencies to make this happen,’’ Frohlich said. “It was a nightmare. But we got it done. The money we gave them for the lot allowed them to build up to a certain standard and they upgraded it even more with meeting rooms and other amenities. The idea was not to build something similar to the old fire station, but to build something way better.’’
Frohlich added that despite maneuvering through red tape and government beuracracy to get to the groundbreaking, the result will be a win for his restaurant, a win for the Fort Morgan Volunteer Fire Dept. and, most importantly, a win for the Fort Morgan community.
“I will get to expand my restaurant. They will have a bigger, nicer fire station with beach access, and the community will be better protected,’’ he said.
Michael Ludvigsen, president of the fire board for the Fort Morgan Volunteer Fire Department, said that the fire department has about a dozen vehicles that must be fueled and ready to provide coverage for more than 12 miles of roadways and dozens of miles of beachfront on short notice. The department responds to medical calls, vehicle crashes and other calls, in addition to fires.
The department is funded by events such as the recent spaghetti dinner sponsored by its Ladies Auxiliary and generous donations from patrons and Fort Morgan businesses.