New bunks, better safety measures, private living quarters, fitness areas, and even a built-in tornado safe room are now part of the new Station 3 facility for the Owensboro Fire Department following Thursday morning’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Before the ceremony began, a group of leadership students from Cravens Elementary School received a behind-the-scenes tour of the new state-of-the-art station, getting a firsthand look at the firefighters’ living quarters, training areas, equipment rooms, and emergency response spaces.
During the tour, firefighters explained how the station was designed with firefighter health and safety in mind, including isolated gear storage and specialized cleaning areas intended to help reduce exposure to contaminants linked to cancer risks in the fire service.
Students also saw the station’s gym, meeting rooms, private dorm areas for male and female firefighters, and a reinforced safe room capable of withstanding extreme weather.
OFD Chief James Howard said the completion of the project marked a major milestone after years of planning and about a year and a half of displacement for crews assigned to Station 3.
“It feels good,” Howard said. “This is the date we’ve been working towards for a long time.”
Howard said the department wanted a safer, more modern station that better supported firefighters both professionally and personally.
“We had some things we wanted to accomplish, as far as a safer station, a station that was better to be able to have both genders to be able to work out of, and better in terms of cancer prevention, fitness, and a better living space for our firefighters,” Howard said. “I think we’ve accomplished that here today.”
The previous Station 3 served Owensboro for more than 50 years before crews were temporarily relocated during construction.
“Now they’ll be coming home once again from a station that was clearly outdated to one that has some modern amenities for the future,” Howard said.
Howard also credited city leadership, firefighters, and community support for helping bring the project to completion.
“It takes so many hands and people who just really want the right thing to happen to be able to do projects like this,” Howard said. “We’re here now and couldn’t be more proud.”
