The Town of Minocqua fire and rescue department has been proudly protecting their community since 1884. After carefully considering remodeling and expanding their existing community fire station, it was ultimately decided that a new, larger facility would provide the best long-term solution. The Town purchased an approximate 4-acre parcel along the shoreline of Clawson Lake on the southern side of the community and chose MSA to design a new 14,536-square-foot station.

The result is a new four-bay, double-deep, drive-through apparatus garage with in-floor heat and epoxy flooring. The finished areas of the building include a training room that can accommodate 48 people, new office spaces, lounge, break room, fitness area, laundry, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) room, workshop, radio room, showers and an emergency generator. It also includes a fire history room, showcasing a truck, equipment and memorabilia from the department’s early days.

Long-term design was top of mind for the new facility, constructed of brick and concrete masonry exterior walls with a steel roof structure that is expected to span over 80 years of useful life. Construction began in the spring of 2017 and was completed in November of 2017. The former fire station is now being repurposed as a storage and service facility for the Town’s Public Works Department.

The new station is also now able to accommodate a wider variety of in-house and community educational and training events. Some of these events include providing tours and fire prevention information to school kids, hosting students during Transportation Day in the spring, and welcoming the Minocqua Public Library’s Story Time gathering where kids and parents learn safety tips, hear a safety-themed story, meet firefighters and explore the fire trucks up close.

The new Minocqua Fire Station is now providing the community with more efficient, effective public safety services, and looks forward to continuing to do so for generations to come. The department officially began responding to calls from their new home on December 4, 2017.