Brighton's Firefighters Mark 150 Years on Main Street While Station 31 Waits on Grand River

On Saturday, October 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Brighton Area Fire Authority will hold a free open house on Main Street in downtown Brighton. The event marks 150 years since the department was organized in 1876. The department's event description gives two other reasons to celebrate, Fire Safety Month and "a new station."

As of this weekend, that station isn't open. Station 31, the Central Fire Station at 615 W. Grand River Ave., is still a construction site. The department's latest published schedule puts construction completion in November and move-in in mid-December. So the anniversary falls in a year when the department is between homes. The headquarters sits empty during the rebuild, crews run out of other stations, and the biggest public event of the year happens on Main Street. The department had a firehouse on that street for three decades.

What's actually happening on Main Street on October 10

The department's flyer lists the activities:

• A vehicle extrication demonstration
• A smoke house experience
• A station for building a home escape plan
• A chance to try on fire gear
• A bounce house
• Local food
• Time to meet the firefighters

The event description also says to "shop the farmer's market." The Brighton Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October 31. On October 10, the two events overlap from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. After 1, the market packs up and the fire department keeps going until 3. If you want both, come in the morning.

Planning was already underway by midsummer. In the minutes of a July 31 special board meeting, board member Rick Boisvert "discussed how plans are coming along for the BAFA Open House on October 10, 2026."

Main Street was home before

The department's own history says it has already spent much of its life on Main Street.

1. 1876. The Village of Brighton Fire Department forms. The department's history calls it "essentially a bucket brigade."
2. 1879. The first village hall goes up next to what is now the Mill Pond, at a cost of $2,300. The fire department and the jail share the first floor, and the council chambers and voting room are upstairs.
3. 1882. The department buys its first firefighting apparatus, a horse-drawn hand pumper, and keeps it in the village hall.
4. 1937. A GMC fire truck with an American LaFrance 500 gpm pump arrives. It is retired in 1970, restored over eight months, and shown again on July 4, 1976. It still belongs to the department as its official parade truck, known as "the '37."
5. 1950. The department moves across the street from the old town hall into a new fire hall known as the Main Street Emporium. The department financed and built it "at no cost to the City of Brighton."
6. 1981 to 1982. The department sells the Main Street station, uses the proceeds to help pay for a new hall, and moves into its current headquarters early in 1982.

The building now being rebuilt on Grand River is that 1982 hall. This October, the open house brings the department back to the street where it was based from 1950 to 1981. The published materials don't say why Main Street was chosen. The history is still there for anyone at Saturday's extrication demo who knows where to look.

Station 31 is a renovation and addition, not a new building

"New station" is a reasonable shorthand, but the project is a renovation and expansion. Brighton City Council approved the site plan in late September 2025. The plan adds nearly 8,000 square feet to the existing 10,500-square-foot headquarters and guts and renovates the original building, including the apparatus bays. Administrative offices go on the addition's second floor. The new layout also includes dorm rooms and workout space. Fire Chief Michael O'Brian told WHMI the building would get new brick walls and doors.

The board voted in September 2023 to use a design-build approach. In May 2025 it hired Brivar to produce the site plan, engineering, and architectural drawings for up to $148,000. Construction started around Thanksgiving 2025.

Construction emptied the headquarters. The department planned to send full-time crews out of Station 33 and move its administration to Station 32 temporarily. That's the arrangement behind this anniversary year. The department turns 150 while its staff work out of borrowed space.

What it costs, and the figures don't match

The published cost figures differ. The department's October 2025 project page estimates $7.6 million, with a $1.2 million congressional grant covering part of it. WHMI's September 2025 report gave a $7.2 million cost and a $1.3 million grant. Neither source explains the difference. The funding source is the same in both, though. The department says the project is paid for mainly by a voter-approved capital millage of 0.89 mills a year through 2031.

What the board minutes show about progress

Since WHMI's February update, the most detailed public record of the project has been the authority's monthly board minutes, which are posted online. They show steady progress through spring and summer.

The June 11 minutes recorded that the brick was finished, cultured stone was due to start the next week, and second-floor framing and sheathing were close to half done. Electricians and HVAC crews were nearly finished with the first-floor rough-in, and the roof was scheduled to start at the end of June. Spending stood at 45 percent of the budget, with $3,590,417.26 left on the contract as of June 2. The same minutes include a line that sums up the year:

"Although the station will remain unoccupied at that time, having the paving finished will allow the event to proceed as planned."

"That time" was September 11. Brivar was trying to finish paving the front apron so the department could hold its 25th-anniversary 9/11 remembrance in front of the building. WKAR's September 10 preview listed that ceremony at Station 31 for 7 p.m. on September 11. The building would host a ceremony out front months before anyone moved in.

By July 31, the minutes said only that "Station 31 is progressing well." Landscaping was expected to be finished by Labor Day. Chief O'Brian noted that if the front of the building wasn't ready in time, the ceremony might be pushed into Brighton's Rock-N-Blues Festival. Those July 31 minutes are the latest construction update the department has posted. The board's next meeting is October 8, two days before the open house.

When the move-in actually happens

The department's target is still construction completion in November 2026 and occupancy in mid-December. WHMI's February report also said the project was expected to wrap up in December. Neither the department nor the local outlets have announced a ribbon cutting or dedication date. For now, treat December as a projection rather than a promise. If anything changes, it will most likely show up first in the minutes from the October 8 or November board meetings.

That leaves a short stretch on the downtown calendar while the department finishes its anniversary year without a headquarters. The rest of downtown Brighton's fall schedule, according to the city's 2026 lineup:

If the schedule holds, Brighton Area Fire Authority will move back into its Grand River headquarters a couple of weeks after Ladies Night. By then the building will be roughly 18,500 square feet, close to double the original. The department will have spent its 150th year on Main Street and out of borrowed stations before moving in for the final weeks of 2026.

Sherry Cynowa has been helping clients buy and sell homes around Brighton since 1994. If you're thinking about how downtown projects like Station 31 could affect a sale or purchase near Main Street or West Grand River, she can walk you through it. Let's Connect.