GARWIN — It’s been a longstanding goal of the Garwin Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) departments to bring their operations together under one roof in a state-of-the-art new facility for a small town, and they celebrated the near-realization of that dream with an open house on Sunday afternoon.

“The need’s been there for a long time,” Fire Chief Nathan Holven said. “It’s been a long process. We’ve had good support from our community, and that’s why we’re wanting to show them the progress and that the funds are actually going to what was committed to.”

Despite the cold and rainy conditions, the event saw a strong turnout with Most Wanted Coffee and Clare’s Tenderloins onsite and a wide variety of treats set out for the public, who were invited to walk through the new 5,000 square foot building located just down Front Street from the current station at 203 Main St. Holven told the T-R that the departments expect to fully move in within the next 60 days barring any unforeseen circumstances or construction delays.

He also recalled a series of fundraising events like fish fries and hog roasts to come up with the money for the project — with an estimated cost range between $400,000 and $450,000 — and working with city officials and community members to determine the ideal location and whether they should demolish the existing station or build entirely new, which they ultimately did.

“We didn’t really have the space to be able to build behind it to be able to tear that one down, and this facility will house both fire and ambulance. So today, we’re housed in two separate buildings, so we’re coming together into one facility.”

Construction began on the facility last July on ground donated by Mid-Iowa Cooperative, and Holven said it will provide more room for maintenance, inspections and working on gear along with meeting and office space. It will also become one of four emergency shelters within the city of Garwin.

“It’ll allow us to grow and to update equipment, which will ultimately improve our ability (to provide service),” he said.

Garwin EMS Director Sherry Parks also spoke to the T-R about the importance of the facility for the department, which includes a small group of volunteers and one part-time daytime professional EMT — Ashley Kajer — whose salary is paid by the new EMS essential service levy passed by Tama County voters in 2024.

“We’re gonna have a lot more room and a lot better access. Right now, where ours is is the end of Main Street, and we have to back up a hill. We have two inches on each side to get that rig in there, and it gets slick (in the winter),” she said. “It’ll be really good for us because now we have these big doors, and we’re gonna have better meeting places. It’s really gonna be nice for us.”

Parks noted the financial strain on small communities and the need for both fire and EMS volunteers. Currently, the Garwin EMS department includes three drivers (all of whom are also firemen), five volunteer EMTs and Kajer.

“Towns are hurting everywhere, and they just don’t have the money to do whatever they want. So it takes more involvement to get something like this done. So there’s a lot of people that are doing a lot of free labor to make this happen,” she said.

Garwin Mayor Matt Deam acted as the general contractor on the project, and companies and individuals that either worked on the building or have contributed materials include Spahn and Rose, Brad Harrington, Raymond Electric, Patriot Spray Foam, Woosley Construction, Overhead Door Company and a dedicated team of volunteers from the departments themselves.

The departments plan to hold another open house during Garwin Freedom Days in July, when they hope to be fully moved into their new facility.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.