Excavation at New Fire Station Site Unearths Church Building Remnants

April 12, 2024

By Landry Brewer

Dirt is being moved at the historic location for Elk City’s new fire station, and workers recently uncovered some of that site’s history.

Utility work requiring excavation has begun at the property behind Homeland on Broadway between Walker and Washington ahead of construction.

The crew doing the work ran into the basement of the First Christian Church building that once stood at the southeast corner of Broadway and Walker.

The building at 416 W. Broadway was built in 1930 but was destroyed by a fire on April 6, 1976.

The remaining concrete will be removed as work continues there.

Last April, Elk City voters approved repurposing an existing half-cent sales tax and extending it for eight years to fund fire station and police department expansion and upgrades.

The existing fire station is more than 70 years old and is so small that it can’t accommodate all the department’s fire trucks, and even those trucks that do fit must back in instead of pulling in forward.

Expanded living quarters are also needed for fire department personnel when they’re on 24-hour duty.

The heavily-used police station is more than 40 years old, and sales tax revenue will also be used to upgrade, expand, and modernize that building.