Champaign Fire Station 3, at 702 W. Bradley Ave., has been deemed too old and small to continue serving its purpose.
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CHAMPAIGN — Champaign’s oldest and smallest fire station has proved to be too old and small, but it might be a challenge to fit a larger building on the same lot.
With reconstruction on the horizon for Station 3, the fire department is eyeing a lot only about half a mile from the current 702 W. Bradley Ave. location.
Fire Chief Andy Quarnstrom said that even the small move to a city-owned lot at intersection of Bradley and Neil would make a big difference for the firefighters.
“It actually operationally provides for more opportunities to us, because it’s a major intersection. It allows our fire unit to get north, south, east and west really easily,” Quarnstrom said.
A quick route north brings firefighters over Interstate 74 and south brings them to downtown and the University of Illinois campus, where that station is called to occasionally.
The fire department and the city are now looking to the community to share thoughts and feelings about the proposed location.
One community discussion is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Stratton Academy of the Arts.
Quarnstrom said that there will also most likely be a discussion on Wednesday, but details are currently up in the air. The time and place will be posted on the Champaign Fire Department’s Facebook and X accounts once finalized.
This decision to relocate comes after the fire department got approval to begin planning a replacement for the station in the first place.
The current building was constructed in 1957 and is only about 1,000 square feet.
“It’s had a pretty hard life at 60-plus years old,” Quarnstrom said. “Modern technology for firefighters has evolved a lot.”
The small building actually creates some safety and sanitation issues.
Quarnstrom said that, now, fire stations have a “dirty side” and a “clean side” so that when firefighters return from a call, they can remove their gear on the dirty side, wash it and shower so as not to contaminate the clean side with any toxins.
A new fire station, which would likely be about 10,000 square feet, would also likely have training rooms, community rooms, workout space and other amenities that are common in fire stations now but weren’t in the 1950s.
All of those details are currently being hashed out since the new station is in the design phase during fiscal year ’24-’25.
Quarnstrom said that if city funding is available, the new station could be completed as of 2027, “but that’s assuming everything lines up perfectly.”
One advantage to choosing a new location, even if it isn’t the Bradley and Neil intersection, would be that the fire department wouldn’t need to find a place to house firefighters and equipment from that location while construction takes place.
Quarnstrom said he doesn’t anticipate any major objections from the community about the location currently being considered, but these meetings will be the first time people are asked for feedback.
It’s too early to say what will become of the old station after this process is completed, but Quarnstrom said he could see it becoming an office building for fire marshals or having a public education purpose.
Either way, he predicts it will need a fair amount of remodeling before being repurposed.