The Comstock Township Board voted 6-1 Monday to authorize bonding for a new fire station to replace the existing Station 93.
The board approved Resolution 2026-10, authorizing up to $13.5 million in limited tax general obligation bonds for the project. Trustee Amos cast the lone no vote. A bond sale is targeted for mid-August, with closing expected in early September. Fire Chief Matt Beauchamp told the board to expect construction information before them in late July.
Why a new station
Station 93 was built as a satellite station to serve the eastern side of the township, but the department and community have outgrown it. The building is landlocked with no room to expand. It has one shower, a kitchen that seats two, and a workout room that has maxed out the floor’s weight rating. Admin staff share the space with on-duty personnel.
Chief Beauchamp told the board the department is at a crossroads: either invest substantially in the aging building or move forward with replacement. “We feel like the time’s right,” he said. “We might not wait much longer either.”
What’s planned
The total project cost is $13.5 million. The new station is designed with the department’s next several decades in mind. Features include expanded apparatus bays, a three-story non-burn training tower, individual bedrooms and bathrooms for each firefighter, addressing longstanding challenges for female firefighters, modern decontamination facilities to protect against cancer-linked contaminants, a Sheriff’s deputy office, and a community polling site.
The referendum period passed without challenge, which Supervisor Martin noted on the record as a point in the project’s favor.
An additional milestone: EMS upgrade
Separate from the bond vote, Chief Beauchamp announced that effective July 1, Comstock Fire and Rescue will upgrade from medical first responder level EMS service to Basic Life Support non-transport — making it the first fire department in Kalamazoo County to reach that designation.
The upgrade was funded through an Assistance to Firefighters Grant. It does not add personnel or change what calls the department responds to. What it changes is what firefighters can do when they arrive. EMTs will now be licensed to administer CPAP for breathing emergencies, albuterol for asthma, epinephrine for severe allergic reactions, nitroglycerin for chest pain, Zofran for nausea, and blood glucose monitoring for diabetic emergencies.
“We are improving what we do when we get there,” Beauchamp said.
