Palatine Fire Department celebrates grand opening of station

A ribbon-cutting ceremony, tours and a fire engine and ambulance on display were all a part of the festivities that marked the grand opening of Fire Station 81 by the Palatine Fire Department on Saturday.

Those present at the ceremony included Village of Palatine officials and active and retired firefighters.

The original fire station, at 455 W. Dundee Road, will be taken over by the Palatine Masonic Lodge, which had to vacate its location at 150 W. Wilson St. due to the Palatine and Plum Grove improvement project.

The new station at 1215 N. Quentin Road is expected to provide increased service and better response times to residents in the northwest section of town.

“It will also be utilized to assist our neighbors at Palatine Rural (fire protection district) and Lake Zurich,” said Batallion Chief Patrick Gratzianna.

Initial construction began in August 2010 following a station location survey conducted a year and a half earlier.

Costing around $2.9 million to build, and at 8,700 square feet, Fire Station 81 is a great addition to the community, the fire department believes.

“The new station is nice,” Gratzianna said. “It’s well suited for that area, environmentally sound, and will improve our response time.”