OPFD Station 41 will live in the Marty Pool House while the new fire station is being built

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KCTV) – The Marty Memorial Fire Station in Overland Park is complete.

“This station is almost 50 years old,” Battalion Chief John Heffernon said. “We’re going to tear it down in February or March next year.”

While a new one will be built in its place, the crew will be in a temporary space.

“We’ll walk across the parking lot, about 100 yards, to the pool house,” Heffernon said.

The pool house he refers to is the Marty Pool house. Earlier this year the pool was downgraded. So the city leaders decided to reuse it.

“It really serves the same area,” said Overland Park civil engineer Tony Rome. “We are in the same location as the existing fire station. So we kind of thought, ‘Hey, let’s see if we could do this.’

Between $100,000 and $200,000 are spent on transforming it into a more livable space. This includes adding an HVAC system, kitchen and sleeping quarters. There will also be a shelter constructed to store fire apparatus.

While the crew will reduce the number of firefighters living in the pool house, they said it will not harm their operations. However, it will be an adjustment for long-term gain.

“They’re all willing to make the sacrifice of roughing things up a bit for a year so they can have a nice new building for 50 years,” Heffernon said.

Once the new fire station is built in 2024, the crew will leave the pool house. From there, the parks department will decide what to do next with the Marty Pool property.

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