FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Date:        Friday, October 8, 2021
Contact:   Jodi Luka, Management Analyst
Phone:     (847) 599-6601
Email:       jluka@fire.gurnee.il.us

The Village of Gurnee and Warren Waukegan Fire Protection District Celebrate the Grand Opening of Fire Station 3

Gurnee, IL – The Village of Gurnee and the Warren Waukegan Fire Protection District (WWFPD) will celebrate the grand opening of Fire Station 3, located at 5330 Manchester Drive Gurnee, IL 60031 with a ribbon cutting and celebration on Wednesday, October 13th at 1:00pm.

Following a competitive selection process, the Village partnered with FGM Architects (Oak Brook, IL) and Camosy Construction (Zion, IL); both firms have a vast amount of experience and specialize in municipal public safety construction. Fire Station 3 compliments the two current fire station facilities serving the Village of Gurnee and the WWFPD. At 14,452 sq ft, the new fire station will be staffed with five firefighter/paramedics, and house two ambulances and one ladder truck.

The Village of Gurnee conducted multiple analyses and planned for the addition over several years. The strategic location of the facility will improve call response times, especially as multiple calls for service come in simultaneously, and provides for easy access on to Interstate 94 and Route-120.

In 2019, the original bid for the project came in at approximately $6.3M. Fire Station 3 was included in the 20/21 Capital budget however, it was one of the expenditures delayed in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to construction and supply trends around June 2020, Camosy Construction suggested the Village seek bids for construction.  Following the advisement, bids came in at $5.8M. Despite the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on all aspects of the economy and daily life, the construction of Station 3 was not affected.

“We are proud of this Station and want to thank the community for their constant support. It was hard to move forward with tax payer dollars during uncertain times, but the timing couldn’t have been better. We came in under budget and on time! This station supports the continuing increase of emergency responses and is a much needed asset to the Village, its residents, visitors and businesses” said Fire Chief John Kavanagh.

Mayor Thomas B. Hood stated, “While the station was approved and construction started under the leadership of Mayor Kovarik, I am pleased to see the competition and opening take place under my tenure.  The residents of the Village and Fire District will greatly benefit from this new facility.  It will strengthen the already outstanding service the Gurnee Fire Department provides to the community.”