Delta Fire Protection District station rebuild moves forward after tornado

KBSI FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

DELTA, Mo. (KBSI) — More than a year after a tornado totaled its fire station, the Delta Fire Protection District is moving forward with plans to rebuild.

The April 2025 tornado damaged the district’s property, including the fire station and another building that was completely destroyed.

Fire Chief Alvin Frank Jr. said crews have continued operating from the damaged station while temporarily securing the building.

“We had one building was totally destroyed, and then the fire station itself is considered totaled,” Frank said. “But we’ve got everything up with cables and boards to make it usable until we get something rebuilt.”

Frank said the district began working through the federal disaster assistance process after the area received a disaster declaration.

That process included months of paperwork with FEMA and SEMA.

“Just a lot of ups and downs, paperwork we had to do, fill out, go back, redo,” Frank said.

The district learned about two weeks ago that the funding it had been seeking would be available and guaranteed, Frank said.

The new station will be built in the same general area as the current building but with a different orientation. The damaged station will eventually be torn down.

Construction will also require the district to temporarily move some equipment and apparatus.

Frank said the department is working to secure other locations where trucks can be staged during construction, including possible heated spaces.

The rebuild comes after a tornado caused widespread damage in Delta in April 2025 and left the district without a permanent long-term station.

Frank said the district is now shifting from securing funding to preparing for construction of the new facility.