InstantnewsBellaire.com

This may be the end for Leroy the Rat. Most of the pots and pans that decorated his home in the kitchen of the Bellaire Fire Station are already packed up in boxes.

On Oct. 14, the city’s Fire Department will move out of its 55-year home at Jessamine Street and South Rice Avenue to a temporary headquarters while the city builds a brand new fire station there. Leroy the Rat, whom Bellaire firefighters joke about almost like a mascot, must find a new home.

Firefighter Paramedic Peter Van Wijk said while he appreciates the history of the old building, he looks forward to having more space in the renovated station.

This fire truck the department bought in 2003 barely fits in the garage. With only three inches to spare on either side, firefighters must take care not to run into the back of the garage, or shut the door on the truck's bumper.

“As you can see, it’s outgrown its purpose,” Van Wijk said about the old facility. “I’m looking forward to not feeling claustrophobic.”

After the city council in late July approved a lease contract for the temporary headquarters located on Fournace Place, Bellaire Fire Chief Darryl Anderson said he made sure the facility had the amenities the department needs: showers, dorm rooms, kitchen space and a break room.

Then it was time to pack.

A professional moving company, Pioneer Movers, will handle the heavy lifting like packing things into trucks, moving items to the new facility and unloading everything in its proper place.

Before that can happen, firefighters must sort everything into color-coded categories, pack boxes and affix labels so the movers know where each box goes. Each of the three shifts of firefighters were assigned to pack specific areas of the station.

It’s been like the fall cleaning of the century.

“Through the 55 years of being here, there’s been an accumulation of stuff that probably could have been cleared out long ago,” Anderson said. For example, he’s found an oil filter for a fire truck that has been gone for 15 years. He’s found old training manuals that champion outdated firefighting methods that modern science has debunked.

“You find a book written in 1979 or 1981, and it’s like ‘this is pretty funny now,’” Anderson said.

Firefighters have completed the majority of the packing, and have found many items that can be thrown away.

Anderson estimates that 75 to 80 percent of the stuff is already packed. Boxes are stacked nearly to the ceiling in one room, and littered along the walls in many other areas. The city council must approve some final design details before the actual move.

Leane Matz, a firefighter paramedic who joined the department in mid August, said she’s looking forward to having a cleaner and safer station once construction is complete in about a year. She said she thinks the current station has character, but it also comes with a leaky roof and Leroy the Rat. Not to mention she’ll have a female-only shower and dorm room at the new station.

“Right now I use the commander’s shower,” Matz said.

“Those pink loofahs are getting on my nerves,” joked Shift Commander Deacon Tittel.

“It will be nice to have my own room, especially when they’ve eaten a lot of beans,” Matz quipped back.

Tittel said he’s especially excited about plans for a private treatment room to care for sick and injured patients. But there are a couple small bummers about leaving the old station.

“I’ll miss my own bed,” Tittel said. The new station will only have seven beds, shared by firefighters on the different shifts. He’s also going to miss the fire pole, which the new station will not have.

Some firefighters have worked in this station for 25 to 30 years, and it became a sort of second home because they spend much of their time basically living there. Some may have sentimental feelings about the old station, but they do anticipate benefits in the temporary facility, Anderson said.

“We’re hoping that the anticipation continues until we move back in to the new station,” he said. “It will be like ‘this is what we’ve been waiting for.’”