By Patrick Baron

NORMAL – The Town of Normal held the opening of the new Fire Department Headquarters this morning.

The station, located at 606 South Main Street in Normal, boasts new eco-friendly technology that sets it apart from the other stations in town.

Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said a location close to Illinois State University’s campus and student housing was a key aspect during the process of choosing where to put the station.

“We always knew there was a high call volume in this particular area,” Humer explained. “But then we used a lot of resources through GIS mapping, real drive time and real calls to find the best location that we could for the fire station – and this really is it.”

Humer, who had been working on the project since its inception in 2013, said he was overjoyed to walk through the building when construction was finally completed.

“As Fire Chief, you look at a lot of buildings in town and a lot of buildings that are under construction,” said Humer. “But not very often do you go into a building that you will live in, be housed in. It makes it very special.”

Humer also explained the area around the new station accounts for approximately half of all the calls Normal Fire Department receives in a year.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].