Fox River Fire District sets groundbreaking for 3rd fire station

The Fox River & Countryside Fire Rescue District will have a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Fire Station No. 3 at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at 37W550 Bolcum Road, St. Charles Township.

The public is welcome to the ceremony, which celebrates the results of a successful $13 million bond issue in 2022 that supported construction of the third station.

Voters had rejected six previous referendums.

Fire Board President Jason Parthun said the new station is as close to being centrally located as possible.

“This will help our other stations cover their areas and what I consider a gap of coverage in our response area,” Parthun said.

“Our district is shaped like a polygon, it’s a rectangle that is wider than it is tall. We have stuff that goes far out to Wayne, all the way to bordering the Elburn and Countryside District and out near Wasco, north to the Silver Glen area and south all the way to Red Haw,” Parthun said. “It’s a pretty significant area that we’re covering and it was a pretty noticeable gap in the center.”

The district covers more than 30,000 residents over 38 square miles, providing fire suppression, fire prevention and emergency medical services in Kane and DuPage counties.

The district primarily serves unincorporated areas of St. Charles and Campton townships and the incorporated villages of Campton Hills and Wayne.

Fire Station No. 1 is located at 34W500 Carl Lee Road, St. Charles Township and Fire Station No. 2 is 40W361 Illinois Route 64, Campton Hills.

Parthun said those two stations cover the district’s central area, but it is not ideal.

“It [the third station] will help with redundancy in the district with overall response,” Parthun said of the new third station. “And it will improve response times throughout the district in existing areas.”

Getting voter support for the referendum is what made all the difference, he said.

“It was huge. It really was a turning point for the district,” Parthun said. “We were able to retire some old debt. We were able to order some new vehicles and things like that, to help with our current stuff and for the new station.”

The district, which was established in 2011, has owned the 6.9-acre vacant site on Bolcum Road since 2013 in preparation for the additional fire station.

Lamp Incorporated is the general contractor for the $5.9 million station, which will be 10,000 square feet, Parthun said.

The new station is expected to be completed by the spring or summer of 2025.

“We are excited to break ground and move forward with this project that will allow the district to respond more quickly to the needs of our growing community,” Fire Chief Michael Hill said in a news release.