CES Airmen celebrate ‘perfect’ station renovations

Story and photos by Airman 1st Class Lane Plummer 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
A fire truck is parked outside Fire Station 2’s newly-renovated stall Sept. 22 on Ramstein. Station 2 provides the quickest response times to locations such as base housing, the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center and high-risk work facilities on Ramstein.
A fire truck is parked outside Fire Station 2’s newly-renovated stall Sept. 22 on Ramstein. Station 2 provides the quickest response times to locations such as base housing, the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center and high-risk work facilities on Ramstein.

Airmen from the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron celebrated the official reopening of Fire Station 2 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 22 on Ramstein.

The station underwent renovations that were completed in August, the first major renovations applied to the station since its establishment in 1955.

“The new station looks perfect,” said Thomas Haupt, 86th CES driver operator. “The first thing that you would see standing here is the stall. It is now large enough for the fire truck to be parked in and keep conditions comfortable for the Airmen here.”

The recently renovated station has a completely remodeled interior.

“Things like having our own sleeping quarters and brand new appliances are really nice” said Senior Airman Kyle Ledford, 86th CES driver operator. “The new schedule will have us working the same 24-hour shift together, and we’ll always find ways to keep each other motivated.”

While new kitchen appliances and living quarter space may make the station shine, renovations will allow the Airmen to be assigned to a more dedicated schedule, increasing the efficiency of the unit, said Ledford.

“The new station definitely helps us with our response times to calls in the housing region,” Ledford said. “We now have a dedicated crew of about four to six people with on-off rotation days, and I think we’ll be very proficient that way.”

The renovations are helping the Airmen at Fire Station 2 maintain high morale and keep the families of Ramstein safe.

Fire Protection insignias decorate the long hallway inside the newly-renovated Fire Station 2, which officially reopened Sept. 22 on Ramstein.
Fire Protection insignias decorate the long hallway inside the newly-renovated Fire Station 2, which officially reopened Sept. 22 on Ramstein.