BY PETE WICKLUND
Journal Times | Posted: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:00 am
TOWN OF NORWAY - A mile and a half might not seem like a long way, but it might be enough to help improve fire insurance ratings for parts of the Wind Lake/Norway area.
That's approximately the distance between the current Wind Lake Fire Department's Station 2 at Highway K (Apple Road) and West Overson Road, and the site being considered for a new station.
The Fire Department has a purchase agreement to buy two acres at the northeast corner of East Wind Lake Road and Malchine Road. Fire Chief Tim Halter said the department hopes to build a 3,581-square-foot, three-bay station there.
The building alone is estimated to cost $215,000 to $230,000. The town government has already approved the station plans, and the matter goes before the Racine County Land Use Planning Committee at 6 p.m. Monday.
If all goes as planned, the department would break ground by October or November and be in the new station by February or March. But Halter said weather could push that opening back until the spring.
The department, a private corporation contracted to provide fire and rescue service to the town, leases the current Station 2, a former Town of Norway Highway Department facility.
Halter said relocating the station to a more central site will help the department lower its Insurance Service Organization rating for some areas of the town, including the town's industrial park located off Highway 45. ISO ratings can result in lower commercial insurance rates. Halter said the department's current ratings rank from six to 10, with 10 being the worst on the ISO scale.
Station 2 houses an engine, rescue squad, grass rig and the Racine County Sheriff's Department Dive Team boat. The department also has a headquarters station on Loomis Road in downtown Wind Lake,
Halter said the department averages 450 to 500 fire calls annually, not including the advanced life support intercept rescue service the department provides to the neighboring communities of Raymond, Waterford, Rochester and Tichigan. The intercept service provides a higher level of care than those communities' own fire departments can provide. There are now about 30 volunteer Wind Lake department members.