Nearly two years after central peninsula voters approved a bond package for construction of a new fire station for Central Emergency Services in Soldotna, staff and borough personnel gathered Wednesday to mark the start of work on a new home for the department.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche said the problems with the existing structure are well known and that voters “strongly supported” a new building.

A groundbreaking was held at the site of the new Station 1, just down the road from the old facility, directly adjacent to the borough’s Office of Emergency Management. Representatives of the borough and CES took up shovels and celebrated the start of work on the facility.

CES Chief Roy Browning said subcontractors are lined up, utilities have already been located, and work might begin at the site as soon as Monday. Construction is expected to take around 15 months, until fall 2025.

In July 2022, ahead of the election where the $16.5 million bond was approved by voters, Browning told the Clarion that the existing Station 1 was originally built in the 1950s and has been expanded several times through 1983. Storage and offices had been moved to other nearby buildings, and he said the existing configuration of the station is “inefficient.”

An effort to substantially upgrade the station has been in the works for decades.

“Getting here has been a long journey,” Browning said before the groundbreaking on Wednesday. “As a community grows and prospers, facilities and services must keep up with that growth.”

In 1982, when the last addition was made to existing CES Station, Browning said, the department responded to 292 emergencies. In 2023 the department responded to 3,214.

CES Station 1 provides service to over 15,000 people, Browning said, and directs emergency response to 25,000 people.

The cost of the facility has ballooned since the $16.5 million bond was passed in 2022. Micciche said that inflation has impacted the project, but credited Browning and Borough Purchasing and Contracting Director John Hedges with finding a way forward for the facility.

Browning said that the facility’s scope was scaled back “a little bit.” Among the elements reduced were living quarters. Originally, the station would have had 12-14 bedrooms; the final design has 10.

An additional $5 million was directed to the project in June by the borough assembly from the CES operating fund to respond to inflation.

The new facility will allow CES to hold under one roof what now is spread across three buildings.

“When the emergency call comes in, we’ll be centrally located and ready to respond with the right equipment.”

Micciche said the facility being constructed is a “state-of-the-art fire station.” He also said that it’s a homegrown project — designed by local architect Chris Parker and set to be constructed by Soldotna-based Blazy Construction.

Ryan Kapp, chair of the CES board, said Wednesday that seeing construction start is a sign of progress for the community.

“Our first responders deserve the facilities and apparatus necessary to do the job right,” he said. “To serve the members of the service area and respond to emergencies as expeditiously as possible.”

Sirens erupted from a CES vehicle racing down the Sterling Highway in response to a call, punctuating Kapp’s words.

“Case in point,” he said.

After construction is complete and CES is inhabiting the new station, Browning said the existing station will be turned over to the borough’s Land Management Division as surplus. The borough will decide what happens to it.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche speaks at a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche shakes hands with Central Emergency Services Board Chair Ryan Kapp at a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Emergency Services Chief Roy Browning waits to speak at a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Emergency Services Chief Roy Browning speaks at a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Emergency Services Chief Roy Browning speaks at a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Emergency Services Chief Roy Browning and other dignitaries ready their shovels at a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Central Emergency Services staff celebrate a groundbreaking for the new Central Emergency Services Station 1 in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)