Village of Howard expanding Fire Station No. 2

Rich Palzewic

Staff

September 21, 2026

HOWARD – The Village of Howard recently broke ground on an addition to Fire Station No. 2 at 4165 Shawano Ave. – aimed at bolstering on-site amenities for the local firefighters.

The project, Fire Chief Dennis Staeven said, will add living quarters to the existing fire station, creating the space needed to support future permanent staffing and improve fire/EMS service to Howard’s west side.

“There are families on Howard’s west side who have lived here for decades, and today, it takes us longer than it should to reach some of them in an emergency,” he said. “This project is about serving those residents better.”

With the addition of permanent staff at Station No. 2, Staeven said firefighters and paramedics will be able to respond more quickly from a location closer to residents and businesses on the west side.

“Our current response times are calculated from our Glendale Avenue location,” he said. “To get to some of the areas in the western parts of the village, it’s about 12 minutes – that’s too high. National standards want that response time between four and five minutes. The addition will dramatically reduce those times by more than half.”

The project, Staeven said, marks a major milestone in the village’s commitment to providing rapid, reliable and top-tier emergency services to the growing community.

He said with every passing minute, a free-burning fire doubles in size.

“As our population and commercial areas expand, these upgrades ensure that our public safety infrastructure keeps pace with the needs of our residents,” he said. “It’s also not just about fires… About 90% of our calls [are for] ambulances. Obviously, if a resident is experiencing something like cardiac arrest, getting to them more quickly can be lifesaving.”

With additional housing under construction at UnitedHealth Group’s former American Medical Security campus and new senior living facilities planned throughout Howard, Staeven said he knew the additional population would cause a strain on the village’s emergency services.

“We wanted to stay ahead of the ballgame and get the addition completed,” he said. “Also, there will be additional development very near the station in the future. You could say Station No. 2 will truly be a neighborhood fire department.”

Staeven said planning for the addition began in 2025, with the village board approving the project in April 2026 and awarding a construction contract to Miron Construction Co., Inc. in July.

“Plans also account for current building codes, ADA requirements, fire suppression and detection systems and other site and engineering needs,” he said. “Construction of the expansion is expected to be completed by May 2027.”

Officials said the village’s 2026-2030 strategic plan identifies adding permanent staff to Station No. 2 in fall 2027 as part of its goal to ensure public safety resources align with service demands throughout Howard.

“We hope to open the station doors fully on Jan. 1, 2028,” Staeven said.

More on the space

Doubling as a polling location, Staeven said the current setup on Shawano Avenue houses a tender and a fire engine.

Part-time staff, he said, respond to Station No. 2 if there is a structural fire or an immediate need.

“They’ll simply respond from home, park the vehicles and grab what equipment they need and respond accordingly,” Staeven said. “There is also a four-story training facility on-site. The property will still have all of those capabilities but will now be able to house full-time staff.”

Though the addition will serve a big need, Staeven said the new space will be “pretty basic.”

He said because the on-site training facility is “extremely valuable” and one of the only ones in the county, officials did not want to lose that aspect of the property.

“We didn’t want a new building to affect the effectiveness and quality of our training center,” Staeven said. “The addition will feature six bunk rooms – which will allow for future hires, if needed – an EMS supply room, a kitchen, etc. Essentially, it will be a livable space for new staff. We didn’t see a need to dive into anything too crazy and extravagant.”

Dealing with budgets, Staeven said officials thought a brand-new building to replace what is currently on-site was not needed.

“We thought about it, but the new addition could be done for about one-quarter of the price compared to building something brand new,” he said. “The current building has been here since the early 1990s. The $2.7 million needed for the project will be funded from borrowed money that will be levied.”

For up-to-date progress on the project, head to the Village of Howard’s Facebook page.