Reconstruction of Goshen Fire Station 18 begins two years after the devastating tornado

GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Two years after Goshen Township Fire Station 18 was destroyed by a EF2 tornadoOn Friday, officials broke ground for a new station headquarters.

“It’s huge. The (firefighters) are operating out of tight quarters in our temporary barracks,” Goshen Fire Chief Edward Myers said. “It’s even tight at our other satellite station because it’s not designed to accommodate as many firefighters as it does now.”

The tornado, which struck Goshen in July 2022 with top winds of 130 miles per hour, left significant damage. Three people were injured as a result of the storm and more than 150 buildings were destroyed or damaged.

“It’s huge for the residents of Goshen Township and Clermont County,” Myers said. “It’s important to have fast response times, so this makes a lot of that a lot more feasible.”

Clermont County Commissioners David Painter and Bonnie Batchler, Rep. Jean Schmidt, Board of Trustees Chairman Dan Hodges, a representative from the Ohio Governor’s office and others attended Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony.

“It was difficult to get the Legislature to understand the need for this building,” said Schmidt, a Republican who represents Goshen as part of Ohio House District 62. “I had to remind (the Legislature) that the reason for the need the tornado and how important it is for this community to have a working fire department.”

Myers said Schmidt played an integral role in securing approx $2.5 million in state funding of the last budget to make this reconstruction possible.

“No local tax dollars are being used to build this fire station,” he said. “It’s a combination of insurance money, state disaster (relief) funding and money from the capital budget.”

The reconstruction, which will cost millions of dollars, should be completed by the end of 2025.

Goshen Township Fire & EMS

Crews razed the former dilapidated building in the fall of 2023 to make way for the new building.

“The new station will be more energy efficient, and we are taking appropriate action due to the suspected cancer laws for firefighters in the state of Ohio,” Myers said. “So we’re doing things to make the work environment safer.”

For Goshen firefighter Justin Andler, the rebuild means his team will soon be able to leave the temporary, makeshift station they’ve been using in place of a fire headquarters.

“It has a big impact because this was our largest facility. This is where we housed (most) of our vehicles,” Andler said. “Having to divide those resources between a shed, which we shared with the service department, and then our smaller station down the street, people were really hemmed in.”