We suggest some folks in Cascade Locks take a break today from getting their noses out of joint over the new fire station. Instead, we hope they stick their noses inside the building, during the town’s “hose uncoupling ceremony.”

Fire Chief Jeff Pricher said the ritual will supplant the usual ribbon cutting when the city celebrates the grand opening of the new Cascade Locks Fire and Emergency Services building. (Things get going at 1 p.m.; turn to page A1 for details.)

Completion of the $1.4-million fire hall is cause for celebration (something the town, fresh off a decision to close its high school, could use). Firefighters would like guests who take a tour of the facility to stay awhile and enjoy a barbecue, as well.

The maroon metal building with three large fire truck bay doors rests at the intersection of WaNaPa Avenue and Forest Lane, near the freeway and new housing developments, on the side of town most likely to experience growth.

The former fire hall, in the center of downtown, was cramped, dilapidated and seismically suspect. The new hall’s spacious interior will give firefighters, and anyone else using the building, a better and safer place to be.

Some citizens worked for decades toward this goal, and city leaders persevered through a sometimes controversial funding process to see the facility become real.

Saturday’s opening is a milestone for the town whose welcome sign a few yards up the road reads, “Gateway to the Gorge.” The new fire hall represents the community’s commitment to its future.