‘Almost a finished building’: Buffalo Grove’s new fire station nearly ready for unveiling

Buffalo Grove’s new fire station on Dundee Road is nearly ready for its grand opening.

Fire Chief Larry Kane updated residents on Tuesday at Village President Eric Smith’s President’s Pick gathering at Sal & Tony’s Italian Restaurant in Buffalo Grove.

“It’s almost a finished building,” he said. “They’re in there building shelves right now. They are mounting (Computer-Aided Dispatch) monitors, hooking up the internet.”

Fire Station 25 at 505 W. Dundee Road is set for a Sept. 16 ribbon cutting and a Sept. 19 open house.

The new building will be more firefighter friendly, Kane said.

“We’re going to see a more modern facility, something that’s way better for our firefighters, better for their health, better for their welfare, as well as better for response times,” Kane said.

With the old building, there were areas where, during winter, when the wind hit the right way, it felt like being in a wind tunnel, officials said.

A 2017 space needs assessment identified several issues, including lack of privacy in the men’s locker room, lack of ADA-accessibility in the women’s locker room and cramped quarters for the three lieutenants.

The village has been doing a bit of creative shuffling with its facilities as it upgrades two of its fire stations.

During the demolition and rebuild of Station 25, fire personnel moved to temporary quarters at the village’s former public works facility at 51 Raupp Boulevard.

After the new Station 25 opens, the village will rehab Station 26 at 1051 Highland Grove Drive. Firefighters at Station 26 will maintain temporary digs at the former public works building.

szalusky@dailyherald.com