Still working to make the new station at 3989 Scholtz Road in Oneida Castle, Assistant Fire Chief Ed Lottermoser said the crew is in “disbelief” of the difference the new station has made.
The former home of the Oneida Castle firefighters was built in 1914. It’s located on 21st Street, and will soon be renovated and used as village hall. The fire department responds to calls in Oneida Castle, Vernon, Verona and Sherrill.
Lottermoser and Oneida Castle Fire Chief Mike Sweatman said the department’s safety has definitely improved. In the old station, engines had to be pulled out of the bay before other crew members could board the rig for a call. Firefighters were also unable to walk around any of the rigs in the former station.
Dick Dingman, the head of the building committee and a member of the firefighter’s board of directors, said there was somewhat of an uphill battle during this 10-year project.
Although the project was under discussion for so many years, Dingman said the board stayed on the progress and made a “bigger push” during the past two years.
Once the opposition of the zoning office in the village was permeated, the crew was able to scout new land.
“We were excited as kids for crying out loud,” Lottermoser said.
Helping the process along, senior chair of the board of directors Norm Lauby donated the land the new station sits on today. Lottermoser said the acreage must cost about $30,000 to $40,000, but that Lauby gave it to the fire department gladly. The Oneida Castle Fire Department is also a “firs time homebuyer” now since the old station was owned by the village, Dingman said.
The official groundbreaking for the Scholtz Road station began Nov. 1, 2008. Ideal Builders, a Mennonite company from Munnsville, came on the job to set up a septic tank system and the framework to the station’s structure.
The firefighters moved in during the second week of July, just in time to respond to an EMS call on the same day.
Sweatman, who has served as chief for the last four years, said the crew was happy to have the new station for that first call; their response was smooth and safer.
“It’s like going from a cardboard box to the Taj Muhal,” Sweatman said.
The crew has wheeled in an item or two from the old station that they may never part with, for historical and sentimental reasons. Lottermoser pointed out a soda acid fire extinguisher that was built in Utica in 1914. The extinguisher holds water and bicarbonate of soda, which combine with built up pressure in order to douse flames.
The new station also has a fire chief’s office and a radio room, something the crew never had before. Although the former station had a common-gathering room, Lottermoser said the new station has a community hall that has and will continue to hold several get-togethers.
The fire station has hosted a few roast beef, pork and fish dinners, along with a barbecue or two, which has been elaborated with a new fire pit the crew installed behind the firehouse.
Last, but not least, Lottermoser’s 5-year-old Shi Tzu Micki gladly wiped her paws before entering the station as the firehouse’s dog. “If I’m here, she’s here,” Lottermoser said.
The Oneida Castle Fire Department will host an Election Day spaghetti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at the station, 3989 Scholtz Road in Oneida Castle. Adults eat for $7 and children 12 and under eat for $3.50. The menu includes spaghetti and meatballs or sausage, salad, Italian bread and brownies. For takeouts call 363-4406.
