A planned $9 million firehouse for the 60 or so firefighters at the 182nd Airlift Wing could be eliminated to help fund a proposed border wall.
That’s according to a list released Monday by the Pentagon of military construction projects that could be delayed in order to pay for the wall along the country’s southern border.
For years, the Illinois Air National Guard unit at the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport has provided fire service to both the military and the civilian side of the airport as well as helping to respond, when needed, to fires nearby. They are also responsible for providing fire and emergency medical coverage to the Army National Guard’s helicopter units located nearby. Pilots in those units fly UH-60 Blackhawks and Ch-47F Chinooks. There’s also an unnamed aerial vehicle unit located within the Army’s facility as well.
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, all decried the move.