City Council approves firefighter grant, UWEC science building site plan

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - A grant which will provide more staffing for Eau Claire Fire & Rescue is approved by the Eau Claire City Council.

The City Council unanimously approved the grant at a meeting Tuesday. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant comes from the Department of Homeland Security. It will allow the Fire Department to add six new firefighters to its staff. Last year, Eau Claire voters approved a public safety referendum for the Fire Department to add six staff members as well.

Deupty Chief Robert Haller says the 12 total hires should help keep the Department’s staffing numbers at around 96.

The City Council also unanimously approves the site plan for the new University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Science & Health Science Building.

The University received over $340 million from the state to replace Phillips Hall, the current science building, with a new state-of-the-art Science and Health Science Building. The Building will also house a 10,000 square foot shared research workspace with Mayo Clinic Health System.

The building is expected to open in the fall of 2026.

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