In a town that was once burned to the ground, there’s very little to commemorate the history of Lawrence’s firefighters, but city officials want to explore ways to at least preserve a small piece of firefighting history.

City commissioners have asked the city’s Historic Resources Commission to study whether Old Fire Station No. 2, 1839 Mass., is eligible for the national, state or city register of historic places.

“I think it does have some historic value,” said Mark Bradford, deputy fire chief of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical. “It is a pretty good example of your traditional old-style fire station.”

The building opened as the city’s second fire station on Nov. 15, 1928, in what was then considered south Lawrence. The nearly 3,000-square-foot building, which has two dormitories and a kitchen upstairs, was used as a fire station until 1972. From 1972 through 1979, it was the county’s only ambulance station.

Through much of the 1980s and 1990s, the only use for the building was as an office for the fire department’s shift commander. It is still used for that today, but in February Fire & Medical stationed an ambulance in one of the building’s two garage bays.

But officials plan to leave the building next year when a new fire station near 19th and Iowa streets is completed, likely in March.

Old Fire Station No. 2 at 1839 Mass.

Jay Antle, a member of the city’s Historic Resources Commission, said that made it a good time to review whether the building should be added to a historic register because if it is vacant it could become a candidate for redevelopment that would change its appearance.

“I like the idea that we’re trying to be proactive about it,” Antle said.

If the building were added to a historic register, any plans to significantly alter the building would have to be approved by the Historic Resources Commission. The city hasn’t determined what it would like to do with the building, Bradford said.

Antle, who is an associate professor of history at Johnson County Community College, said something that spelled out the history of Lawrence firefighters would be interesting, but he was uncertain whether such an idea would be feasible.

“At this point there really isn’t anything like that in Lawrence,” Antle said. “I don’t know that you would have enough local support to have a fire museum, but it would be interesting.”

The city’s Historic Resources Commission hasn’t set a timeline for making a recommendation on the issue.