The City of Lee’s Summit and the Lee’s Summit Fire Department will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. to celebrate the upcoming construction of a new Fire Station #3. The ceremony is open to the public and will be held at 2020 NW O’Brien Road.

Site work will begin in the next few weeks and construction of the 16,000-square-foot station will begin once that is substantially complete. The new facility will be located north of the existing station, just west of Pryor Road and Shamrock Avenue. The new fire station will have four apparatus bays with additional bunk rooms and work space. It has not been determined what will be done with the existing Fire Station #3.

“The current Fire Station #3, built in 1971, has definitely outlived its life. The west side of Lee’s Summit has seen tremendous growth in the last few decades and it isn’t slowing down. This new state-of-the-art facility will provide much needed space for not only the existing pumper crew, but also for crews and equipment that may be added in the future to meet service demands and response times in an already busy part of the city,” said Fire Chief Rick Poeschl.

The replacement of Station #3 was approved by voters as part of a 2016 “No-tax increase” General Obligation Bond to fund public safety improvements. The land for the station in the area of Pryor Road and Shamrock Avenue was provided as part of a public/private partnership with John Knox Village. When completed in late 2019, the station will provide a modern facility to serve all of Lee’s Summit and a rapidly developing west side.