Sioux County Supports Hospers Fire and EMS Station | News

Lina PortmanMay 31, 2024

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ORANGE CITY—Hospers plans to build a new emergency services facility to house its fire station and emergency medical services, a $2.8 million project that the Sioux County Board of Supervisors will financially support by contributing $15,000.

Hospers Fire Chief Jason Overmohle and Mandy Boersma, who represented the EMS side of the project, presented their request for county funds at the May 14 Board of Supervisors meeting.

The request was unanimously approved, with the county to contribute $5,000 over three years, starting in July through the start of the 2024-25 fiscal year. This is the standard amount the county gives to new fire station projects.

Plans for the new emergency services facility place the Hospers fire station and EMS center on the former Joe's Feed Service property at 105 Main St. The city purchased the land in September 2022 and the shed and building offices will be cleared from the site.

“It’s right off old Highway 60. It’s a main road with easy access for responders and an easy exit for trucks responding to emergencies. It’s actually a great location for us,” Overmohle said.

According to Overmohle, a new building is needed to accommodate the growing size of emergency vehicles as well as the need to meet modern Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. The current facility is located at 304 Main Street.

“We don’t have storage space; no floor drain in half of the building. This creates difficult situations. There’s virtually no ventilation,” Overmohle said. “We're looking to the future, and there's a lot to come in terms of traffic safety, from an OSHA perspective. We're kind of looking at implementing a lot of these things.

The fire department has 19 members and responded to 44 calls last year, while the ambulance team has 12 members and responded to 81 calls last year.

According to a fact sheet, the fire station was built in 1968 and renovated in 1992 to house the city's emergency medical services vehicles. However, regular building renovations have struggled to meet modern needs.

The building's meeting room can only accommodate 18 people, hampering the 24 hours of training firefighters must complete every two years, the 36 hours training paramedics must complete every two years, and the 48 hours paramedics must complete every year. every two years.

Because of the risks associated with smoke exposure, OSHA requires firefighters to decontaminate themselves and their equipment after each fire call. Ambulance personnel must also properly disinfect the ambulance after each patient to ensure the safety of the next one.

The current facility is not large enough to accommodate disinfection and cleaning of pipes, trucks and other large equipment and must be done outdoors, even in winter. There is only one floor drain to collect snowmelt and decontamination fluids, and the building also does not have an exhaust system for vehicle emissions.

The new building would be built with seven truck docks including a car wash dock, an equipment decontamination room, a human decontamination room, a meeting room large enough for 40 people, men's and women's toilets, an office, a kitchenette, a real ventilation and storage system in the attic.

There would also be a display area to highlight one of the first fire trucks owned by the town of Hospers. The building would be constructed entirely of steel and capable of withstanding 130-mile winds.

“We would like to start this project next spring if all of this comes to fruition and we have the necessary funds,” Boersma said. “Right now we have $700,000 in cash and another $200,000 to $300,000 in pledges for services. Our total is about $2.8 million, but we're hoping not to spend that much because of all the private service donations we might get, like donated labor and this and that from different companies. We aim high and hope for the best.

In other matters, supervisors approved the sheriff's office's contract law agreements, which included increased rates, reflecting higher costs for the sheriff's office.

The Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services to seven communities throughout the county, with contract rates based on the municipality's population. They are: