Cold Spring Breaks Ground On New Fire Hall

(KNSI) – No one was more relieved to participate in a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday at the new Cold Spring Fire Hall site than Chief Dan Weber.

He led the department through nearly five years of discussion on the facility. Initially set to be a joint public safety building housing police as well, rising costs changed plans. Now, earth is moving at 109 Main Street, preparing the site for a 16,000-square-foot fire-only facility.

Weber tells KNSI News his group has run out of space. “It’s very cramped. We don’t have all of our trucks in that fire hall. We have one in City Maintenance right now because it’s not big enough.”

Representatives from Donlar Construction, the project manager, were also present at the groundbreaking. They estimate that the work will start in earnest on October 21st and finish in 2026.

The ceremony coincided with Fire Prevention Week, but it was not the only event on Wednesday. Weber talked about the open house that welcomed the public to the current facility, tucked inside the municipal center. The building’s location on busy Red River Avenue, Cold Spring’s main drag, is ideal for community events, but Weber says it poses problems during day-to-day operations.

“It’s a hazard to be backing trucks in off of Red River Avenue. Also we got to have people out on the road to stop traffic, so we can back our trucks off and on that busy road.”

For Fire Prevention Week, Cold Spring alternates its events. In odd years, crews ride a truck through the neighborhoods meeting residents at the end of their driveways. In even years, they have an open house at the fire hall.

Weber says there were roughly 25 members when he first joined in 1992, which is identical to today. The department is trying to hire five more. Weber hopes the new station will help in recruitment and retention efforts.

Weber notes Cold Spring Fire now sees over 600 calls per year, up from around 125 when he began. Many of those are medical.

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