Pirkanmaa welfare area to buy Tampere’s 1900 central fire station for €6.7m

Plans by the Pirkanmaa welfare area to buy Tampere’s historic central fire station for €6.7 million are awaiting final approval from the Pirkanmaa regional council, as the current lease on the building ends at the close of this year, YLE reports.

The station was completed in 1900 and sits on a roughly 5,000 square metre plot, with more than 4,000 square metres of floor space. Pirha currently rents the premises for €55,300 a month. Nekala’s new rescue and emergency medical services station is due to open later this year, and some functions will move there. The old building will continue to house statutorily required services and units that secure rescue and EMS operations in Tampere city centre. This follows the city's earlier plan to build five new fire stations, including the Nekala station. Once the Nekala facility is operational, a major renovation of the historic station will begin. Day-to-day work will be shifted into an adjacent extension.

The purchase is budgeted in the welfare area’s 2026 investment plan and has approval from the Ministry of the Interior. However, the regional council must sign off because it decides on property deals larger than €5 million. Under the current zoning plan the site is earmarked for social services, residential-supporting buildings and municipal technical facilities and institutions.