Plans for DeKalb fourth fire station on pace for April 2025 opening

DeKALB – Plans for the city of DeKalb’s new $4 million fire station continue to move along at the north end of the Schnucks subdivision at 1130 S. Malta Road.

Once complete, the facility will make for the fourth fire station ran and operated by the DeKalb Fire Department.

“We’re hoping to open the station sometime early April, I would say,” Fire Chief Mike Thomas said.

The facility has been a long time in the making and needed to address slow emergency response times in the area, officials have said.

In May, the fire department celebrated the started of construction on the fourth fire station with a groundbreaking ceremony.

Thomas said the fire department build hasn’t seen issues that would impact its ability to open on schedule.

“Things have been going pretty well according to the timeframe we’ve been given,” Thomas said.

The fire chief also said the facility’s construction has been coming in within budget, which the city has estimated at about $4 million. The station hasn’t been outfitted with the bells and whistles needed for firefighters yet.

“We don’t have anywhere to put equipment yet,” he said. “We’re kind of waiting until the station can be secured before we start to load it up with the normal types of things that we would put in there.”

When asked if the agency has brought on new hires for the new station, Thomas said the department will address staffing soon.

“We’re watching that carefully, and we want to bring on new people as we know that opening day is more concrete,” he said.

The city has said staffing and pension costs would be covered by the city’s general fund and the ground emergency medical transportation fund. Hiring also was prioritized in the fiscal 2025 budget greenlit this month by the City Council.

The city intends to pay for the facility’s construction using a general obligation bond, officials said.

Thomas said he anticipates hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony when the station opens, with details to come at a later date.