Fire Station Dedication – A Chapter In Oskaloosa History

Oskaloosa Fire Chief Mark Neff makes his remarks during the dedication of the new Oskaloosa Fire Station.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa Fire Chief Mark Neff gave an emotional thank you to the citizens of Oskaloosa on Thursday afternoon, as Oskaloosa’s newest public facility officially opened.

Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt opened the ceremony, looking back at the last fire station dedication held by the city, which goes back to 1909.

The voters of Oskaloosa decided they wanted to invest in an updated fire station during the 2014 election, with a 68% approval margin. Krutzfeldt remembers speaking with Neff after the results were in, and the excitement the voters of Oskaloosa recognized the situation the fire department was in.

Krutzfeldt remembers thinking how the citizens of Oskaloosa showed,”the amount of love they had for their fire department and also the recognition they had that these facilities do need to be updated and maintained. Especially when you’re thinking about public safety.”

Oskaloosa Fire Department is the only station in Mahaska County that is staffed by full-time firefighters 24 hours a day. “The staff stands ready for emergencies both in town and also in the nearby townships, and furthermore we have mutual aid agreements with the surrounding cities.”

“So from this perspective, we can see that Oskaloosa not only recognizes the need but is also willing to pay for the cooperation necessary so other communities and their departments can be rightsized and efficient as they see fit.”

“The facility, as you see it has an eye to the future,” added Krutzfeldt. The updated living quarters, operations updates, training room, and room to add an aerial apparatus.

“I should also mention. Not all of the work on the building was done by just contractor’s,” explained Krutzfeldt who witnessed staff working on the new station. “The kinds of things sweat equity that gives you a sense of ownership of the facility and also a spirit of how we’re going to maintain it going forward.”

Krutzfeldt also recognized the efforts of a citizens committee, city council and staff in steering the project in the beginning. “What we see today is a result of those opinions being voiced. The debate that took place, and I can tell you there were some very angry exchanges that took place in this process as well. But ultimately, decisions that were made resulted in the building that we see today.”

“This fire station is just another example of the community’s investment into high-quality structures that maintain Oskaloosa’s viability, and it’s way of life,” said Krutzfeldt.

Fire Chief Mark Neff took the podium next, welcomed the nearly 100 people that stood in the sun for the dedication ceremony. “It’s been a long time coming. We’re really excited, so if my voice cracks a little bit, it’s excitement.”

“What we’re standing in front of today is the finished project of about 3 ½ years of planning with the mayor, council, city staff, the design team, the building team, followed by 16 months of construction,” said Neff.

“About three weeks ago was the first time in 5 years that we’ve had all of our equipment under one roof,” said Neff.

Neff was referring to the former Oskaloosa Water Department building which stood nearly on the very spot he spoke. When that building was there, the fire department utilized approximately ⅔ of that space. “So when that came down, all of our operation procedures had to change.”

“Firefighters have a sense of history. We always like the old; sometimes we resist the new. The old station was built in 1909. We’re going to continue to utilize that facility,” said Neff.

“It [1909 fire station] is the second oldest fire station west of the Mississippi in the continental United States. Only Davenport Iowa has one that’s older. It was commissioned in 1904 or 1905,” said Neff. “It’s something to be very proud of.”

“Citizens of Oskaloosa, you’ve always stood behind us. This is just another example,” said Neff.

“In closing, the fire department is a symbol of our community. This is your firehouse, we’re just the keyholders,” added Neff.

Instead of the traditional ribbon cutting as seen at many new building dedications, fire departments have developed the tradition of a hose uncoupling for dedicating new fire stations.

Three different groups of individuals conducted hose un-couplings, beginning with city dignitaries, then the fire department staff and finally with members of the Oskaloosa Area Chamber & Development Group.

Photos from the dedication can be viewed HERE.

History often remembers Mayors for the remarks they give at historical events, not unlike the dedication of the fire station expansion project.

Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krtuzfeldt said the project was “just one in the progression of things Oskaloosa needs to be doing.”

Krutzfeldt remembered his time while on the city council and the expansion of the library, law enforcement center were done. “I was council back when we were working on upgrading the schools and doing the cooperative efforts that way. This is just one more major step for the community as far as public safety is concerned, but also the livability of Oskaloosa. That we want to make sure people feel safe in their community, we also want them to be proud of the structures that we’re building and the way these structures work.”

Krutzfeldt praised the leadership of the fire department when the news came that the old building that house much of the fire department’s equipment was determined to be a safety hazard.

Neff told Krutzfeldt and the council the department would find a way to stay operational, even with the loss of that building.

A stroll through the third floor of city hall would often show extra firefighting equipment. The city street department housed equipment and Mahaska County Emergency Management all made space available to keep the department operational.

After that initial emergency of getting water department personnel out of the building, followed by fire department equipment, the conversation then began on what the solution would be.

The group as mentioned earlier, comprised of citizens in the community made the recommendation to build onto the existing station to handle all of the equipment under one roof and to also keep the station in a central location of the community. “It was people stepping up and giving us good advice at times when we really needed it that made those times a lot easier,” said Krutzfeldt.

With the door officially opened to the new station, Krutzfeldt said you breathe a sigh of relief “because this has turned out to be a structure I will be pointing and and be proud of for many years to come.”

With more than one hundred handshakes and lots of conversations already under his belt, Oskaloosa News took the opportunity to chat with Oskaloosa Fire Chief Mark Neff one on one about the historic day for his department. “It’s been a really fun day,” said Neff.

The day was the result of bad news one day nearly five years ago when their other building was found to be structurally deficient. “We called in some engineers, and it [building] wasn’t good,” added Neff.

So, the department had to adapt quickly and find every nook and cranny to put equipment, and trucks that had been stored in what was known as Station 2. Station 2 housed an engine, tanker truck, 2 brush trucks and a trailer. “When we lost that, we cut our apparatus bay vehicle storage areas in half,” remembered Neff. “We’ve still got the same amount of equipment, but we’ve got no room.”
“Three weeks ago was the first time in 5 years we’ve actually had everything back on site,” said Neff of their equipment being scattered. “Thank God for those folks. They helped us out a lot.”

“We’re still moving in. We’re trying to get our feet under us,” said Neff of those final adjustments being made to make the work spaces most efficient.

As many leaders do, they begin to look towards the future, just like planning the structure to house an aerial apparatus.

The south bay of the new structure pushes east of the other three apparatus doors and is designed to house the longer fire trucks such as an aerial apparatus.

“What I’m really starting to concentrate on now, “ said Neff, “I really want to see if we can’t get this aerial apparatus put into this building. We’ve got a plan in place. We’ve just got to see if everything will flow through. We had some contingency money left over from this build.”

The amount left over in the contingency fund wasn’t going to be known until the building project had been completed. That money coupled with the trade in over an older engine along with budgeted money, “I think we’re probably going to be able to get something put in place for an aerial apparatus.”

Aerial trucks are often thought of for ‘high rise’ types of fires, but as recent history has shown, the Swims building fire was quickly contained due to the aerial apparatus from Pella. That same piece of equipment also helped to quickly end a fire on North C, after area departments had battled the blaze for hours.

Several apartment complexes in the community are taller than the ladders the fire department have. “We have a multitude of multi-family dwellings that we don’t have ladders tall enough to reach to vent,” said Neff.

Neff said that beyond structure fires, an aerial apparatus could prove to be critical in saving individuals from grain bins where there are little to no points to anchor from.

Oskaloosa firefighter Shane Glandon has a long history at the Oskaloosa Fire Department. His dad Frank Glandon joined the department in 1969, and Shane remembers being there as a young boy back in the mid-1970’s.

“It’s nice,” said Glandon who looked back on history and recalls the story of how the 1909 fire station got built. “That [1909 fire station] was a result of a building that was delipidated and fell down, so they had built a new one.”

Glandon’s signature can be found in the cab of the old American LaFrance fire truck that is now on display at Nelson Pioneer Farm.
When looking at the progression of the Oskaloosa Fire Department and the day’s dedication of the new addition, Glandon said: “it makes me feel good.”

During those years of being at the fire station, either as a young boy or now as a professional firefighter, Glandon has seen firefighting change. “We accept change sometimes, other times it’s harder to accept change.”

That tradition can be seen in the design of helmets, but changes to things like firefighting tactics are easier. Air packs are another thing that has changed for firefighters.

Glandon remembered tackling a car fire in Beacon one day when a fuel tank ruptured, and flames erupted. “We had a close call.” Because of the change in when to utilize air packs made the difference for them that day.

Those words reflect the way firefighters view history and tradition, and that common thread that is the brotherhood of firefighters.

Glandon says he plans to retire a firefighter, but when asked if he’s looking forward to wearing the white hat of a captain or a chief like his father if the opportunity were to come. “I still get to do the job, whether it’s a white hat I would be wearing, or it’s just being a regular firefighter. It doesn’t matter.”

When it comes to history looking back on this day, Glandon offers these words for firefighters in the future. “I hope they look back on us like we look back on the old guys. Listen to them, take their stories and carry on.”