Newly Renovated LA Fire Station 'Feels Like Home'

The Covington Fire Department unveiled the newly renovated Ernest J. Cooper Memorial Fire Station on Wednesday, following months of construction and expansion.

The building, which is located on N. Jefferson Ave. and named for the Covington's mayor from 1967 to 1991, had not undergone a major renovation since its construction in 1972, according to Covington Fire Chief Gary Blocker. He said the improvements were "well-needed."

“These people are away from their families for 24 hours at a time, so any way you can make them more comfortable, that’s always a better thing," Blocker said.

The changes include a complete renovation of the inside of the firehouse, as well as repaved driveways. A new carbon monoxide system that ventilates the station when trucks are being worked on warns firefighters when carbon monoxide levels reach a dangerous threshold.

The renovation also added two additional parking bays for firetrucks.

The fire department is set to receive a new aerial platform, a tool that allows firefighters to work above a fire, for one of their trucks sometime next month.

A "clean room" also was added to the back of the station where the 15 firefighters working at the station can safely store their gear away from carbon monoxide emissions.

“It’s making it safer and cleaner for them and keeping us up to code," Blocker said.

Frank Stritzinger and Brad Farizo, contractors with Striker Construction Services LLC, said the project began in October and cost $700,000 after the fire department decided to add an internal renovation of the firehouse to the project.

Firefighters at the station spent an entire month without a working kitchen, but now have new appliances and renovated living quarters.

“This is their home away from home," Blocker said. "Now it feels like home."

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