FIRE ENGINES MOVE IN
CITY RENOVATES HOME AS STATION
Byline: By Ryan Konig, Staff writer
It took a while to get used to the revolving beams of light that would slip through the
window blinds and slide across the walls.
But residents of the 7200 block of West McDowell Road like their new neighbor, fire engines and all.
The Phoenix Fire Department recently bought a home on the corner of 72nd Lane and McDowell Road and converted it into a temporary fire station.
The money came from the sales tax increase that voters approved last year to improve police and fire services.
''This fire station is probably the first really tangible result from Proposition 301,'' Fire Department spokesman Steve Jensen said.
Proposition 301 raised the city sales tax by a tenth of a percent, which could add up to an estimated $12 million a year for public safety programs.
Jensen said the site at 1602 N. 72nd Lane was picked because the surrounding area accounts for 2,000 annual calls for Fire Department services.
The firehouse is expected to remain open until the city builds a permanent station nearby.
Christel Dell and other nearby residents say the fire station is a good neighbor.
''They've done a real good job making the place look nice, inside and out,'' she said.
''They've even done some landscaping.''
''They're also very considerate,'' Dell said of the firefighters stationed at the house.
''We don't even get disturbed at night. They must not turn on the sirens until they get around the corner.''
Richard Fox, a central Phoenix resident who helped develop Proposition 301, said the fire station is proof that the city and neighborhoods can work together.
''This is the first fire station to be funded through Prop. 301,'' Fox said. ''The Fire Department took a vacant home that was in pretty bad shape and fixed it up really nicely.''