The Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire Department is getting half a million dollars of remodeling and renovations starting Dec. 6. The fire authority authorized a contract to the Traverse Citybased contractor RCI Richter Construction Tuesday. The project is expected to be completed in early May 2025.
“We’re adding five individual bedrooms and five individual bathrooms down at the end of the building,” Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire Chief James Porter explained. “There are two bedrooms and two bathrooms right now.” This will expand and rework the existing crew quarters at the fire station. Since Suttons-Bay Bingham provides Advanced Life Support (ALS) services, they’re required by the state to have a paramedic on call at all hours. In Suttons Bay, these emergency workers stay at the fire department overnight for faster response times.
The existing crew quarters are in the dormitory style, with six beds in one room and three beds in another, and two bathrooms. Porter said that one of the positives about the remodeled crew quarters is that it will provide greater privacy to its occupants and separate facilities for men and women, although Porter said they do not currently have a female firefi ghter.
