OUR

STATIONS

The motto of the Grand View Volunteer Fire Department was "MAKE DO." This began to change as new demands were placed upon the department. Although slow in coming, major changes are occurring at increasingly shorter intervals.

The picture below is the fire hall as it appeared in 1975. The notch above the right hand door was the solution for getting our then new pumper into the building. The fire hall had not changed in twenty years.

In 1982, the fire hall was remodeled to accommodate larger vehicles. At the time, we had five trucks but only room for three. Two of the vehicles were parked elsewhere. Our intention was to replace four of the trucks with two newer, later model, greater capacity vehicles. The double doors were removed and a single, wider door installed, 2" of insulation was installed over the concrete blocks and a metal skin over that to improve energy efficiency. Constucted originally in 1950 as a single vehicle garage, it was enlarged twice, first wider then longer. The bulding is 26' wide and 42' long and is in use by the town for miscellaneous storage and housing a groomer for Bayfield County Snowmobile Alliance.

The truck on the right is a department tanker that was used until 1983. It was parked outside during the summer as there wasn't room inside. During the winter, it was parked in the town garage, two blocks away. The truck was a converted gas delivery truck.

Station #1 was moved into in June of 1995. After more than four decades of insufficient room, we finally had all our equipment under one roof. The new station has a four vehicle apparatus bay, a meeting room, office, restroom and storage room. Firehouse events are headquartered here.

The Pioneer Fire Company

Station #2 is a joint venture with the Town of Namakagon and the Namakagon Fire Department, vastly improving response times to the southern end of our township and northern part of Namakagon. It will house up to five vehicles and is within 6 miles of nearly half the properties of both townships. It has long been a goal of both towns to obtain this facility.

The origin of the project was the donation of two acres of land in a discontinued sand pit. Ground breaking was held on May 13 followed by the town road crews preparation for the building. The materials for the structure were dropped on the site May 31 and construction started in mid-June. The dedication occurred Oct. 16, 2002 with occupancy and operations beginning that same day.

The station is designated "PIONEER FIRE COMPANY" in reference to its location (on Pioneer Road) as well as its status of being a PIONEER EFFORT as far as the fire service is concerned. It wasn't too long ago that firefighters fought each other for the right to fight a fire. It was only recently that mutual aide became popular. This station begins a totally new concept in the fire service, a truly cooperative effort as both fire departments contribute equipment and man-power to mutually benefit the adjoining portions of both townships.