Base firefighters respond to a simulated aircraft fire during a training exercise at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, May 20, 2025. The exercise included structural and aircraft fire response. (U.S. Air Force photo by Eric M. White)
As the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) works to finalize plans for fiscal year 2025 funding, Ohio Republicans urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to designate $25 million in existing funds to support the fire station construction project at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) in their home state.
Located in Trumbull County, Ohio, YARS is home to the 910th Airlift Wing, which has a tactical airlift mission and is tasked with the DOD’s aerial spray mission.
“As the base continues its transition to the new C-130J airframe, the facility has received widespread support for a new fire station to meet the mission requirements of this airframe investment,” wrote U.S. Reps. Michael Rulli (R-OH), Dave Joyce (R-OH), Mike Turner (R-OH) and U.S. Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Jon Husted (R-OH) in a May 20 letter sent to Hegseth.
In FY 2024, YARS received $2.5 million for the planning and design of the new fire station, and is now ready to move forward with construction, according to the lawmakers.
Both the Pentagon and Congress have backed the YARS fire station project as part of the FY25 Air Force Reserve Budget, and it was authorized with bipartisan support in the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act, which included $25 million in both chambers’ FY25 appropriations bills, they wrote.
“Given the clear recognition of the importance of this project at the Pentagon and in Congress, it is our hope that $25 million will be designated for construction of the YARS fire station through the funds provided by the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed into law by President Trump on March 15, 2025,” the lawmakers wrote.