Highland Park Firefighters Move Into $2.7M Station
HIGHLAND PARK (WWJ/AP) - Highland Park firefighters have moved out of their temporary quarters and into a $2.7 million station.
Thirty firefighters and their leader, Chief Derek Hillman, moved from an industrial park into their new digs last week.
The new 14,000-square-foot fire station was built with federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. It stands across the street from the old, condemned fire station.
"It was a great feeling to wake up to a clean building and not a dark warehouse that looked like we were living in a haunted house," firefighter Dammeon Player told the Detroit Free Press. "It's just like buying a new home. The guys are excited. Some guys stayed over even though they weren't on the clock."
After the original firehouse was ruled to be uninhabitable eight years ago, the department had been housed in an old warehouse with a trailer for a kitchen.
Highland Park fire crews respond to an average of 1,000 runs a year, including 150 structure fires, car accidents, medical calls and hazardous material calls.
The department provides coverage for about 12,000 residents.
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