New EL fire station earns national award
by Emmitt B. Feldner of the Review staff
ELKHART LAKE — The new Elkhart Lake/Rhine fire station has garnered some national recognition.
Village President Alan Rudnick shared with the Village Board Monday recognition of the new fire station, opened last May, in the Fire Chief, a national magazine for firefighters.
The $3.1 million facility won a notable award in the volunteer department category in the magazine’s annual Station Style design awards competition.
The magazine feature lauded the station for incorporating “sustainable, local materials and renewable and efficient energy sources to achieve a ‘self-performing’ LEED Silver standard.”
It also noted that the facility serves “as a community focal point that helps tell the community and department’s story, and to build excitement and pride within the community and for volunteer recruiting efforts.”
Rudnick told the board that Fire Chief John Reiss will meet with the Joint Fire Station Committee later this month to explain the differences in ISO fire safety ratings between the village and the town. Rudnick noted that the village has a lower rating (4) than the town, which ranges from 6 to 10.
Distance from the fire station is one factor, Rudnick said. Village Clerk/Treasurer Jeanette Moioffer added that available water pressure, from fire hydrants in the village but not in the town, also contributes to the difference in rating.
Trustee Michael Wolf said he hopes to set up a meeting in the next week with Quasius Construction of Sheboygan to go over figures and estimates for remodeling the former fire station in the Grashorn Municipal Building for police and village office space.
