Cuyahoga Falls City Council approved this summer borrowing $8.4 million in bonds to help fund the construction of a new Fire Station 4 and firefighter training facility at 849 Bath Road.
The new fire station is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, while the training facility is scheduled to be completed by next summer, said Morgan Ferrell, the director of Neighborhood Excellence, Communications and Community Outreach for the city.
The facility will feature equipment bays, a watch office and amenities for six firefighters. The training facility will include a 40-foot burn tower, which will allow firefighters to practice search-and-rescue, fire extinguishment and venting — the practice of cutting a hole in a structure to release heat and smoke.
Station 4 serves the Steels Corners area of the city and the portion of Cuyahoga Falls that extends into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park around Blossom Music Center. When called upon, Ferrell said, Cuyahoga Falls’ fire department provides mutual aid to neighboring jurisdictions, including Akron.
Documenter Wanda Shelton heard about this at the July 13 Cuyahoga Falls City Council meeting.
Akron firefighters may train at Cuyahoga Falls facility
Akron firefighters will be among those permitted to use the soon-to-be-completed training facility.
“Any department is welcome to utilize the training facility,” Ferrell said. “Because it is a state-of-the-art training facility and it is difficult to get this type of training nearby, interest is very high.”
Despite being the largest of Cuyahoga Falls’ fire districts — nearly 14 square miles — the station received the fewest emergency calls (1,215 incidents) among the city’s five fire districts, according to the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department’s 2025 Annual Report.
In total, the fire department received 12,806 calls in 2025.
Noise, smoke concerns raised by residents, city responds
When the ordinance was first presented to the Cuyahoga Falls City Council in 2023, Ward 8 residents voiced concerns around noise and smoke pollution that could affect a nearby park, churches and historic buildings. Fire department leadership assured residents that the nearby training facility posed no threat to the community and that only clean-burning materials would be utilized in training. Still, council amended the ordinance to limit what could be burned in the tower and when and how often the tower could be used.
Ward 8 Council Member Frank Stams was the lone dissenting vote when council approved the project in 2023.
The resolution to approve the bond sale passed unanimously at the July 27 council meeting, with no discussion or public comment.
