CAMBRIA - The Cambria Fire Department calls the greenish-yellow fire apparatus its "back-up pumper," and the name has multiple layers of meaning.

It's the pumper that's used when the main pumper is out of commission or additional water is needed. And it's backed up, literally, with its bumper touching the rear wall of the fire station, because otherwise there would be no room to open the rear door of the ambulance parked in front of it.

The bumper-to-bumper crowding of the fire department is one of many reasons why Fire Chief Vance Haney wants to renovate a defunct implement dealership into a new Cambria fire station.

Haney got the blessing Monday from the Cambria Village Board to research the logistics of the move, including seeking grant money wherever it might be available - provided that the village not be asked to put up any money in the effort.

According to Haney, acquiring the former Enerson & Eggen implement dealership on Highway 146, northeast of the existing fire station, would allow the new fire station to be built in an existing building, and another building on the 12.5-acre site could serve as a training facility.

Enerson & Eggen closed its doors in early 2007 after more than 60 years in business at that location.

Haney said he didn't know how much it might cost to acquire all or part of the property and renovate the buildings, but he said he believes it would be less costly than the estimated $1.2 million to $1.3 million it could cost to build a new fire station at the current Edgewater Street location in downtown Cambria.

This much, however, he does know: The fire department has an opportunity to acquire a trailer of equipment to address hazardous materials spills - something he said is badly needed in Cambria because one ethanol plant, Didion, is included in the fire station's coverage area, and another, United Wisconsin Grain Producers, is located just across Highway 33 near Friesland.

But there's no point in getting the haz-mat trailer, Haney said, because there's no room to store it in the existing fire station.

"Our capabilities are growing," he said of the 27-member volunteer fire department, "but our facilities are shrinking."

If the fire station were relocated to the former Enerson & Eggen property, the village would be its owner. This, said Trustee Nick McConochie, would mean that a former commercial property would be taken off the tax rolls.

Also, noted Public Works Director Tom Tietz, the property is not currently connected to the village's water system, and even if it were, water pressure in that area tends to be low.

That shouldn't be a problem, Haney said.

"We don't need maximum water pressure to keep our tankers filled," he said.

What the department does need, he said, is space.

Right now, whenever the department has to order a new piece of equipment, it has to ensure that the fire truck isn't too long to fit into the station.

Maneuvering the equipment out of the fire station when a call comes in also requires extra skill because all the trucks are so close together, he said.

"You could walk from one end of the station to the other," he said, "and never touch the floor."

Trustee Cody Doucette, who is also a Cambria firefighter, said the acquisition of the smaller steel building on the implement property, for use as a training facility, could be a great benefit not only to the Cambria Fire Department, but also to neighboring departments.

Firefighters from all over the area, who normally would go to Madison for training, might be able to come to Cambria for training, including exercises such as simulated vehicle fires.

Rob Roth, vice president and engineer with Portage-based General Engineering, said there are many potential sources of money for the project, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and federal Community Development Block Grants. However, he noted, the fire department encompasses portions of five municipalities - the village of Cambria and parts of the towns of Springvale, Scott, Randolph and Courtland - and some of the municipalities might meet federal criteria for a particular program of financial aid while others might not.

Haney said he'll look for money wherever he can find it - because, ideally, he'd like to be in the new fire station before 2010 ends.

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