Madison Fire Dept to add second story

The Madison County Fire Department will be upgrading its station in Rexburg.

The department was awarded a Community Development Block Grant by the Idaho governor’s office. The $350,000 grant will help the department add a second floor to the current facility. Fire Chief Corey Child said this addition is something the station has needed for some time.

“We’re bursting at the seams, so to speak. Our number of employees far exceed our ability to house, staff and office all of these employees,” he said.

The second story will provide additional training space, office space, living quarters, and a kitchen. Currently, firefighters are training in shifts, which is less than ideal for emergency response units.

“Crews should be able to train together so they all hear the same thing, then they all act in that same behavior,” said Child.

The department also received other contributions from the Rexburg Urban Renewal District, Madison Fire District, The City of Rexburg, and Madison Ambulance. Child said the block grant was the last key to making the renovations possible. The department is looking to start construction in August.

Thirteen other cities across the state were also awarded a CDBG, three of them are in eastern Idaho. Rigby received the grant to upgrade its downtown utilization, Ririe got one for water system improvements and Aberdeen received funding to enhance its wastewater facilities.