Strasburg FD switches to 24-7 staffing; gets creative with sleeping arrangements
STRASBURG (WJER) (May 4, 2022) – The village’s nighttime firefighters have been sleeping in a camper behind the station since the May 1st switch to 24-7 fire and EMS coverage.
Chief Steven Laskey says the arrangement is only temporary until the department secures the permit needed for them to start spending the night inside the former social hall that’s being transformed into a dormitory.
“We have the fire inspection hopefully this Friday if the state fire inspector’s schedule is free. And then once we get that, we can file the paperwork, and then it’s just a matter of how long the paperwork takes at the building department.”
He anticipates the process being complete by June 1st as long as no other issues come up during the inspection.
“The construction is almost done, so as soon as the paperwork is done, we can start sleeping in the building instead of the trailer.”
Laskey says the camper firefighters have been staying in has two bedrooms with doors that lock from the inside, along with a small kitchen and bathroom, though they’ve opted to use the ones inside the station. He says he looked into renting a construction trailer instead, but the camper was more economical.