Bloomington Fire Station 1 reopens after three-year renovation

Bloomington Fire Station 1 reopened with a ribbon cutting Thursday, marking the end of a three-year renovation project after severe flooding destroyed the basement and first floor of the station in June 2021. 

The Bloomington Fire Department hosted an open house at the station Saturday to celebrate and reveal the renovations. The station, located at 300 E. Fourth St., was fully open for the public to explore the updated facility. 

Construction on the station cost $4.5 million, according to a city press release. Remodeling of the station began in December 2023 and was funded by the city as part of a $29.5 million Economic Development Local Income Tax bond. 

Among the renovations are shutter doors that open horizontally to let the engines out of the garage, a bigger kitchen, individual sleeping quarters and an updated living room. 

Individual sleeping quarters benefit the first responders in more ways than one. The new alarm system is outfitted to sound only in the rooms of firefighters who were dispatched, allowing other firefighters to keep sleeping. 

For firefighters that are dispatched, a timer in the garage keeps track of their response time, which should be less than a minute, fire chief Roger Kerr said. 

“A fire run takes a little bit longer since they’ve got to put all their stuff on before they get on the truck,” Kerr said. 

With the reopening of the downtown building, the firefighters and vehicles that were relocated to one of the other four stations in Bloomington after the flood are now able to return to Fire Station 1. 

“The truck had been relocated to a different station, so we brought that back downtown,” Kerr said. “The engine had been in our temporary quarters. Everything else is what had normally been out of here when it flooded, basically. They just came back.” 

Kerr said he is happy with the renovations. 

 “It’s even above our expectations, to be honest with you,” he said.