HUMBOLDT — With construction underway on the street in front of their fire hall, the Humboldt and District Fire Department is planning a temporary move to the Humboldt Curling Club.
Work on replacing water mains under Seventh Street began July 15 with the excavation of the 500 block, moving north towards Eighth Avenue.
The section in front of the fire hall where fire trucks enter and exit will be the last to be torn up and replaced, said Mike Kwasnica, Humboldt’s fire chief. At that point, which is thought to be around Aug. 30, the fire department will make the move.
Work will be done up to the south side of the hall’s property line before being moved to Eighth Avenue, moving south towards Seventh Avenue
“Once they get to Seventh Avenue, there will be that small stretch in between. We’ll relocate to the curling rink and respond out of the curling rink,” the fire chief said.
Except for the fire chief and deputy fire chief’s offices, all necessary equipment and trucks will be moved over to the temporary location.
The move shouldn’t be too strenuous, Kwasnica said, if all department members chip in.
“If everyone grabs their own gear and then we take the trucks over, it really shouldn’t take us that long to get set up. That way, everyone knows where everything is.”
Some volunteer firefighters have been responding to calls at the fire hall for the last 30 years, Kwasnica said, so the change in location might cause some wrong turns in the middle of the night.
Other than that, the fire chief isn’t expecting any other challenges for volunteers as they respond to calls during that time.
After construction is complete, which is expected to take around two weeks, the entire fire department will return to the hall.
So far, construction has not hindered the department and their volunteers. Kwasnica said it has been a good working relationship with the contractor keeping the fire department in the loop regarding everything going on with the project.
