New fire house to be dedicated Saturday

For more than a year, East Dundee residents have heard about it and many have driven by it. Now, they will have a chance to tour the new Route 25 fire station during an open house 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Residents will see the parking bays, offices and training rooms they are paying for through their property taxes. They will hear how the new location gives firefighters and paramedics the advantage of being centrally located and able to respond quicker to calls east of Route 25.

"We've been in the new station since June," Fire Chief Steve Schmitendorf said. "We waited to have the open house until October to finish some small projects and to bring attention to Fire Prevention Week, which starts Oct. 5."

The new fire house will be formally dedicated at 11 a.m. The last time East Dundee fire officials dedicated a station to the community was in 1950 when the former neighborhood station, on Third Street, was opened.

It is the reason why the new station was constructed. The former station served its purpose in location and size for 40 years. As the boundaries of the village expanded eastward into Cook County, though, the central portion and nature of the call in East Dundee changed.

Car accidents have replaced fires as the majority of calls firefighters respond to. Many of the accidents occur along Route 72.

Voters agreed to allow fire officials to sell $5 million in bonds to build the station. Village trustees saved the fire district money by donating the land where the new station was built.

"The village gave us a great piece of property here," Schmitendorf said. "Now, our trucks and ambulances can drive right onto Route 25 without maneuvering around the streets of our old neighborhood."

The property where the station is has enough room to serve the district's needs for decades, the fire chief said.

The former fire station is now the property of the village. Trustees will have it renovated for their police department now located in the village hall.

During the open house, food will be served and demonstrations conducted. Instead of a ribbon-cutting ceremony, fire officials will conduct a hose uncoupling ceremony, a tradition when fire stations are dedicated.

"From the old station, we brought over the plaques honoring firefighters and Chief Gene Rakow," Schmitendorf said. "They will be displayed in the new station."