Staff photo / Bob Coupland Bloomfield fire Chief David Peterson, left, and his brother, Bloomfield Trustee Roger Peterson, sit on the back of an ambulance inside the fire department, which is a converted barn. A $500,000 addition will begin in the spring, marking the first change to the 40-year-old structure.

BLOOMFIELD — The township fire department will get a $500,000 addition this year, marking the first of any major changes to the 40-year-old structure.

Trustee Roger Peterson said the addition is needed “because we are simply out of room.”

He said with new vehicles, there is a need for two more bays and a storage area. The building stands at 3,200 square feet and has an office area and three bays. The original station, which was an old barn, was 800 square feet and has housed one of the fire department’s vehicles.

Peterson was able to secure a $345,000 state grant from the one-time Strategic Capital Budget and has $95,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for the project, which was given by commissioners last year.

“Because we have been able to budget well over the years, we have enough money in the fire fund to pay whatever the rest may be,” he said. “We will make it just a little bit bigger than we need in case we get a truck that is a little bit longer.”

Fire Chief David Peterson said the office area also is limited in space because of all the records being kept there. The original station was built with grants in 1985 when there were three fire engines for a volunteer fire department.

Roger Peterson said 40 years ago, the barn sufficed.

“We have outgrown what we had. With more vehicles and a need for equipment storage, an addition is needed,” he said.

The Bloomfield Fire Department roster has 19 volunteer firefighters and the chief.

“It is 100% volunteer, 100% of the time,” Roger Peterson said.

David Peterson said some vehicles have to stay outside and are rotated in the barn, which has no electricity. Roger Peterson said when the township purchased a 2003 ambulance three years ago, the township was able to cover 95% of the local emergency medical service calls and provide mutual aid.

He said work will begin on the addition in the spring and be completed in the fall. The square footage will be added to the southern portion of the building.

The department has an ambulance, two engines, a pickup truck and an all-terrain vehicle.

“It does not even seem possible that we will be getting this addition this year,” David Peterson said.

He said the fire department has been careful with spending over the years, including buying used equipment.

“We were always fiscally responsible and went after grants,” the chief said.

He said the two new bays will be longer and face different directions than the current three bays, which face west. The township is awaiting the arrival of a new ambulance that was covered by a $170,000 grant.

Roger Peterson said trustees already have awarded the contract for the project. He said DJM Construction, which is a combination of two Amish commercial contractors, is scheduled to do the work.

David Peterson said 40 years ago, the department responded to 30 calls per year and responded to 250 calls last year. He said as of early February, the department already has responded to 32 calls.

The original fire station was at the township garage for three years and then the new station was built in the 1980s with their father, Roger Peterson Sr., getting the grant to build it.