WEYAUWEGA - The Weyauwega Area Fire District is renewing its push for a multi-million-dollar expansion and modernization of its fire station, citing growing firefighter cancer risks, cramped conditions and aging infrastructure.
The district includes the city of Weyauwega and the towns of Weyauwega, Royalton and Lind. Fire officials recently submitted a $4.5 million community project funding (CPF) request through U.S. Rep. Tony Wied’s office for 2027. CPF allows members of Congress to direct federal dollars to specific local projects that benefit their districts.
If approved, the federal funding would be used to overhaul the 43-year-old station at 116 E. Wisconsin St. and remove the adjacent Clark Building, which fire officials said is more than 80 years old and beyond repair.
Fire Chief Tom Cullen said the fire station currently lacks a true decontamination area and a primary goal of the project is to reduce firefighters’ exposure to carcinogens that accumulate on gear and clothing after fire calls.
“Our people are in the smoke and in the contents of the fire, and that gets on their gear, on their person, and it gets brought back here,” he said. “Not only is it getting on our firefighters, they’re taking it home to their families.”
Firefighters face a 9% increased risk of cancer diagnosis and a 14% higher risk of cancer-related death compared with the general U.S. population, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Locally, Cullen said some now-retired Weyauwega firefighters have been diagnosed with cancer. He said he’s worried that without modern decontamination spaces and equipment, those risks will continue to rise.
“The contents of fires have changed,” he said. “It used to be wood and paper. Now it’s carpeting, tables, wall coverings, all kinds of plastics. It’s basically solid gasoline and its all carcinogens.”
Since plans to modernize the station stalled in 2024, the department has tried low-cost fixes, such as sealing off part of the truck bay from the meeting area and repainting ceiling tiles to create a crude separation between “dirty” and “clean” spaces. But Cullen said those measures fall well short of industry best practices.
As part of the redesign, the older adjacent building would be torn down and the remaining space converted, including turning part of the existing office and station area into a decontamination zone.
The proposed project would install a diesel exhaust removal system to capture fumes from fire engines, create designated “hot,” “warm” and “clean” zones to limit the spread of contaminants and add on-site laundry for turnout gear and shower facilities so firefighters can fully decontaminate after calls.
Assistant Chief Adam Spierings said the current layout forces trucks, equipment and personnel into tight quarters. The modern station would be reconfigured and the building expanded to provide more space.
Cullen said the project is also about keeping the fire district staffed. He said WAFD has been “very fortunate” to maintain staffing levels so far, but ongoing health risks and outdated facilities could make it harder to attract and keep volunteer firefighters.
Currently, property owners pay about $45 to $53 per $100,000 of assessed value for fire protection services annually and residents are not billed for emergency responses. Instead of pursuing a tax increase to fund the station modernization project, the district is seeking federal funding.
If the district’s Community Project funding request is approved, Cullen said they would aim to begin construction as soon as possible in 2027.
If the funding request is not approved, Cullen said the need for upgrades will not go away.
“The longer we wait, the more it’s going to cost,” he said.
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