PLEASANT PRAIRIE — Hundreds of village residents toured Fire Station No. 3 on Saturday, spending time with first responders and getting an up close look at the equipment. The Pleasant Prairie Fire & Rescue Department open house offered the public an up-close look at the new facility at corner of 104th Street and Terwall Terrace, within walking distance of the Pleasant Prairie RecPlex.
The new facility will serve as the headquarters for the department, supporting the village's other two fire stations in handling calls. Chief Craig Roepke said staff has named the new station "The Lakehouse," because it sits near the shores if Lake Andrea. "The building is beautiful and it's a much-needed facility in a much-needed location," he said, adding this site has no fire polls.
"The fire poll is almost a thing of the past because quite honestly a lot of injuries happened with them," Roepke said. "This is a phenomenal location," Roepke said. "We have great access east and west.
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It really is a needed feature." He said the new station's proximity to Interstate 94 will allow quick access to area businesses in need. Visitors toured the facility, met with public safety personnel, interacted with fire trucks and learned about rescue equipment.
The new station is about 21,350 square feet and includes eight dorm rooms, a drive-through four-door apparatus bay, a day room and a training room. The station can house up to eight full-time employees and has room for administrative staff, including the fire chief and deputy chief. The design resembles Fire Station No.
1 in the village and features stone, brick, and metal roofing, and also incorporates energy-saving components such as a solar panel system. Plans for the village's third fire station were discussed as far back as 1999. In 2015 and 2020, the village scored poorly in the Village's Insurance Services Office rating, pointing to the need for an additional station.
A 2019 fire study "confirmed the need" for a third station, according to village officials. In December 2022, the village's Plan Commission approved construction of the facility, followed by contract approval from the Village Board in January 2023. Contractors broke ground in May 2023, and the facility was completed this month with the installation of a natural gas generator that took more than a year and a half to arrive.
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