The St. James Fire District has begun excavating the site for a new fire station. Work has started to level the area, remove trees, and prepare the site for construction.

The St. James Fire Department has begun excavating the site for its new fire station on the corner of North Jefferson and Matlock Drive. Crews began leveling the land this week in preparation for construction of the new station, although final station plans are still being reviewed.

The building committee has a preliminary plan that it is working on that will be used in the construction process. Gomer Hancock and Kerry Feeler are doing the excavating of the site and plans will be moving forward in the next couple of weeks to finalize the new station design.

“We started digging,” Fire Chief Bruce Parton explained. “We still don’t have a design per se. But we do have a ballpark idea of the layout and the slopes necessary for drainage.”

Parton said that building committee members will be meeting this week to look at the site and to finalize design plans in time for construction to begin. The committee recently had a chance to visit the Belle Fire District and got a look at its new station, which is under construction. Following that visit, preliminary designs began to take shape.

The new fire station will utilize a drive-through area for trucks as they enter and leave the building and will have plenty of storage space and offices for fire fighters as well as a break room and reception area. Plans to have the building ready for occupation by May of 2011 will still take quite a bit of work, as the next step will be to finalize plans and begin the bidding process.

Funding for the station hinges on a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. The district is applying for a grant that would allow them to complete their plans to add a main station on the corner of Matlock, as well as a smaller secondary site on S. Highway 68, one mile south of Highway NN. Parton explained that the building committee would be working quickly to get plans finalized as excavation continues throughout the week.

The St. James Fire District has also received matching grant fund checks from the Missouri Department of Conservation Forestry Division. From June through August, matching grant funds were distributed to 169 rural fire departments that are to be used to purchase additional equipment and personal protective gear for structural and wildfires. The St. James Fire District received $2,817 as its share of grant money and will be responsible to match these funds.

Parton explained, “We bought radio equipment for our new truck. We also got a winch for our brush truck.” He said that the district has already purchased the new equipment and is thankful that these opportunities are given to rural fire departments, as the cost of equipment can add up quickly, especially on the new fire truck. The new equipment has already been purchased and is now in operation.