Bay Village firefighters urge council to restore dorm doors and allow dual-use training/workout space

Justin Fishbach, speaking for Bay Village Firefighters Local 1144, told council the department had made concessions during station renovations — including living in the station during construction — that saved the city roughly $900,000 and that some promised features were later removed. "We agreed to move our station and move up into the front of the station so the city could save $900,000 during this process," Fishbach said.

Fishbach and other firefighters asked council to approve bedroom doors for dorm rooms and allow the second-floor skills-training room to carry limited workout equipment to serve firefighters’ needs while preserving the primary training function. "The only monetary thing we're asking for are doors," Fishbach said. He said the firefighters aren’t asking the city to fund equipment but only to allow the space for them to outfit: "We're just asking for someone to say, we can use the space as that."

City officials and council members said the project was scaled back because costs rose after COVID and that the skills space was designed to prioritize training. A council representative told the union that the skills-training function must be preserved but that staff would discuss whether some equipment could be accommodated: "I would wanna see that it can be used as a skills training area," a council member said, adding the administration would consult with Chief Lyons when he returns from vacation.

The union asked for a concrete next step. Council members and the administration agreed to follow up: staff said they would meet with the chief and return to council with options for whether the skills-training area can support supplemental workout equipment and whether an appropriation or a contractor change would be required to add dorm doors.