January 31, 2026 Issue, Page 10 of 13

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10• SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2026 NEWS The Elk City News Rotarians Tour New Fire Station By Sheryl Ponce The Elk City Rotarians held their weekly noon meeting at the new Elk City Fire Department last week. Meals were catered in by the all-new Grandma’s Kitchen (Meals on Wheels), and were joined by the fireman on duty. President Rob Stephens opened the meeting, and Chief Kyle Chervenka began to give the group a rundown about the new facility, then they took the Rotarians on a tour. “We have, with volunteers, close to 40 firefighters. We’ve just increased the number for this building. A big point of building a new building was to increase staffing. It is going to nine-man shifts. So we have seven firefighters per shift and two EMS employees per shift. All the firemen are across trained as EMS,” Chervenka explained. He continued to say that they hope to increase the number per shift to ten in the new budget year. In the old building they had eight per shift. “Last year was our highest call volume on record. We ran 3111 calls out of the station. That’s the most we’ve ever run. This combined EMS and fire. We needed that extra staffing, because every time these guys go out on a call, we have to maintain four to five firemen here at all times,” Chervenka said. The crews work 24 hours on and 24 hours off. Then they have four days off in a row. Every two weeks the fire fighters work roughly 112 hours a week. Chervenka went on to say that the best thing about the new building is that all of the apparatuses are housed in one place. The meeting started out in their classroom, which contain the new high school fire classes, and continued by splitting the Rotarians in two groups to see the new station. One group was led by Chervenka and the other one by assistant chief Brian Pierce. Some of the highlights of the tour included a table that was being made by the firefighters, with the emblem in the mid- dle, which had layers of epoxy over it. Chervenka explained that each shift has their own refrigerator and supplies. The kitchen sits across from a living room with several recliners and a large television. Right outside of that is a large patio, with furniture and bar-b-que. As the tour continued, they went into the laundry area and on to the bathrooms, which were expanded to include more than one shower and lockers. The next area was the huge garage or apparatus area. All of the equipment was on hand and ready to go. The area was spacious with plenty of room between engines and trucks. Chervenka went on to show the Rotarians the storage areas and fire fighters’ locker room. There are 30 lockers, which is enough for 30 firemen. Additionally, he talked about the apparatus needs over the next few years, and the maintenance of those on hand. Overall, they have been able to repair and update several of the vehicles, which some of the repairs are able to be done inhouse. The offices were the next area the chief showed the Rotarians, as well as the living quarters, and dispatch. The staff has room to write reports, as well as offices for EMS and the chief ’s office. He said that they are looking to have personnel on staff to greet people as they come into the station. Right now they keep the doors locked because no one is there for the public. He wants people to be able to come in and talk to someone. The Rotarians were able to see a facility that should last another 75 years. The fire department was able to be a part of the planning process, therefore, the building has been tailored to the specific needs of the community, the department, and the city. Elk City’s fire station is one that has been an investment in the future, the growth of the town, as well as the surrounding communities. It seems to be a sign of growth and pride in Western Oklahoma.