An empty lot on the corner of 17th and Military Avenue in Baxter Springs will soon be home to a new fire station. Ground was broken today on the new facility for the Baxter Springs Fire Department. U.S. Representative Jake LaTurner helped make sure one million dollars in federal funding was approved in the Fiscal Year 24 appropriations package to go toward building it. A representative from his office and Senator Tim Shallenburger were on hand for today’s event, as both helped in the process of securing both federal and state funding for the three-million-dollar project. The new fire station will eventually replace the aging station just six blocks away. That facility is almost 100 years old, and a new fire station will allow the department to grow. “Our current station today, we’ve outgrown it. We have equipment sitting outside. This allows us to put our equipment indoors where we can keep it protected. Ready to go for our community,” said Gunnar Wixon, Baxter Springs Asst. Fire Chief. The specs of the building have not yet been finalized, but planners say it will be bigger than the current facility.
Source: KSNF/KODE
