Wheeling’s New Fire Department Headquarters To Take Shape Quickly

WHEELING -- The huge footprint for the foundation of the new $9 million Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters is in place, and soon the new structure is expected to quickly rise out of the ground and take shape.

City officials gave an update last week on the progress being made by &build, a PCS Company, and its crews at the East Wheeling site for the new fire headquarters along 17th Street.

"Actual construction is going well thus far with our contractor, &build, who is experienced and is working well with the city's team," Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said. "It's on schedule to be completed by the end of December. The walls of that structure will be arriving on April 18, so that will actually start coming out of the ground."

Herron said walls will be put in place after they are received, and the assembly is expected to take a number of days.

But installation of the prefabbed exterior sides of the sprawling 26,860-square-foot facility will make the great progress on the job very apparent.

"So we're excited about that," Herron said.

Wheeling Fire Chief Jim Blazier said about 90 percent of the massive footprint of the building has already been completed.

"The weather has been very favorable for our construction crews," Blazier said, noting that he and other local leaders regularly attend bi-weekly progress meetings with the contractor. "We've had rain, but we've also had some very mild temperatures."

Blazier said once they begin placing the prefabbed walls, they are expected to follow completed sections of the building with the roof. Then once the shell of the building is completed, the majority of the rest of the construction work will take place inside.

"The contractor has really been on top of things," Blazier said, noting that they have been able to navigate around supply chain issues to avoid any significant delays. "We're on schedule and hoping to possibly be in the building by the end of the year. We're extremely excited."

Herron said the efficiency of the build has been a result of -- among other factors -- some excellent collaboration.

"It is a team effort that began with the chief and his design committee, made up of various ranks and expertise from within the department, who put in many hours reviewing every detail of this new facility," Herron said. "They, coupled with M&G Architects and Engineers, put together an outstanding project that will serve our citizens and their fire department for many many years to come. The new Fire Department headquarters project is progressing very nicely."

Money generated through the City Service Fee will help pay the debt on the construction of the new Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters. City Service Fee funds also helped pay for the new $6.5 million Wheeling Police Department Headquarters in Center Wheeling, which recently opened inside a totally transformed former building on the vacated Ohio Valley Medical Center campus.

Both new public service department headquarters have been designed to be state-of-the-art facilities that are expected to serve the city and local residents for decades into the future.