VIDEO: The Jenks Fire Department marked a major milestone on Wednesday with the ribbon cutting of its new fire station, giving the community a chance to tour the facility and meet firefighters.
The new station sits across the street from the department’s previous building, which dates back to the 1950s.
Fire Chief Greg Ostrum said the old station has served multiple purposes over the years. “Our old fire station was built in the 1950s and it actually had several jobs over the last couple of years. Anything from the old jail to, I think at one point, it was the actual city hall.”
For more than a year, firefighters in Jenks were forced to operate out of a single station on the south side of the city due to their building becoming unstable.
Now, officials said the new facility will improve service not just for them, but for residents too. “[We’ll have a] quicker response. It does help for our ISO rating. We’re closer for those responses, for sure.”
The new two story, 10,000-square-foot station cost $4.7 million and includes three bays for fire trucks and equipment, along with living quarters for firefighters on the second floor.
Jenks Mayor Cory Box said the station was designed with future growth in mind. “I’m very proud of the team that designed it because it’s modular, so we can add and build onto this building as the size of the team grows.”
