JOHN DAY – John Day Volunteer Firefighters were flipping hotcakes Saturday, Sept. 27 as hungry visitors dropped dollar bills into a couple tall rubber boots, raising funds for a new firehouse. Goods were also collected for the Grant County Food Bank.

The current fire hall on the corner of Dayton and South Canyon Boulevard is “sorely outdated,” said Deputy Fire Chief Ron Smith.

One problem among many is the small amount of room between the fire engines and the walls of the building when they’re parked. He said firefighters have to turn sideways to make their way through that area.

The city recently purchased land to build a new firehouse. The property is two blocks down South Canyon Boulevard from the fire hall, at the current site of El Cocinero restaurant.

Groundbreaking is not expected for one or two more years, Smith said.

City officials will look for ways to finance the fire hall, possibly with grant funding.

Smith and Fire Chief Steve Allen plan to take road trips in the future to examine other newly built firehouses and pick out the best features they find in them to add to the design plans of John Day’s new structure.

They anticipate the building to be two stories with bunk rooms and training and public meeting rooms. The building will belong to the taxpayers, Smith said, so they want some areas in it available to the community.

The fire department acquired two newer fire engines last year. One for rural fires is a 1999 model and a 2001 city engine.

Allen expressed appreciation for citizens supporting the fire department.

“The community does a good job of coming together,” he said.