Ground was broken Wednesday on the first of three planned new fire stations in Parkersburg.
“We’ve spent countless hours … to get us here today,” Fire Chief Jason Matthews said at the 16th and Covert Street site where fire station 2 stood for 86 years until last week. “We’re ready to start moving dirt.”
Station 2 was built in 1932, with station 3 at 13th and Liberty streets and station 4 at Emerson and West Virginia avenues also constructed during the Great Depression. All three have suffered from a variety of structural issues in recent years, among them leaking roofs and basements, shifting foundations and garages barely large enough for modern fire trucks.
In 2016, City Council allocated nearly $250,000 to the project, money that has primarily been used in the design work by Pickering Associates and to acquire property adjacent to station 2.