The Perryville Fire Department opened what could be considered a piece of history.
City administrators, firefighters, and others took part in a grand opening and ribbon cutting for a brand-new fire station, christened Firehouse No. 2, on May 17.
The new structure, on the west/north side of the Highway 51 bypass, is in front of the Citizens Electric facility and is the first firehouse built in Perryville since 1975. Members of the fire department, city officials, county officials and others broke ground on the structure’s construction July 7, 2022.
The finished product is now ready.
“This is an amazing feeling,” Perryville Fire Chief Jeremy Triller said. “I’ve been the Chief for almost 11 years and pretty awesome to stand here and look at this beautiful building that we couldn’t have gotten without the city administration and every one of the citizens of this community. I hope everyone is proud of us and we will continue to do the best job that we can.”
The Fire Department recently acquired a building on Delaney Street in the fall of 2022, which will give the department full fire protection coverage of the city.
“That essentially gives us a fire station and equipment on the south end of town, the central part of town with the current fire station, which will remain the headquarters, and then with Station 2 on the bypass it gives us a northwest coverage.”
The extra coverage also helps the city’s Insurance Services Office score, which takes into account how prepared a community an area is for fires and affects homeowner’s insurance as a result. Currently Perryville’s ISO rating is a 4.
“We strive to maintain that 4 rating,” Jones said. “It gets harder every year because they make it harder with the grading system. We will continue to strive for that rating. The fire department has been in existence since 1874 and we have served with honor, pride, and integrity since that time. The Fire Department has had much community support even dating back then and it has continued to this day.”
Jones believes this not just the fire department’s station, but also the community’s.
“This is not necessarily our fire trucks, but also the citizens of the community,” Jones said. “We take care of them and use them, but we have them to protect the residents.”
Jones feels that Fire Station 2 is a prime location.
“That will have access to the northwest of Highway 51, but it also puts us in a good response area for anything near the interstate area and all the businesses at that end of town,” Jones said. “That helps us with everything for the industrial park such as TG-Missouri, Citizens Electric, Atlas, Robinson Construction and the heavier industrial area.”
Jones noted that they will reposition some equipment to fit the needs of the area of the city.
“We are working on that now,” Jones said. “We will reposition equipment for specific use and where we think the equipment will be better served.”
