KCFD Station 34 is now closed for firefighters as contractors are working towards making those improvements quickly. Station 44 will also have completed renovations this year.
Each fire station is receiving upgrades to its sleeping quarters and bathrooms as part of a 2021 City of Kansas City, Missouri initiative to include all-gender bathrooms in city-owned facilities.
Buildings will also be getting a cosmetic facelift with new paint and flooring. Overall, the projects are taking 6-9 months to complete.
Over the years, times have changed. We have to update and change with them, said Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins. “In the early days, open bunkers, open locker rooms, things like that were just kind of the norm.”
Firefighters put their lives on the line every day as they come into work at all hours of the day, grab their gear, get on the firetrucks, and chase toward danger to help community members. Some firefighters though have felt uncomfortable when having to the restroom or lie down to go to sleep.
Hopkins said the changes are about necessarily complaints they’ve heard.
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