By Heather Gann
al.com
HOOVER, Ala. — Over half a dozen fire station projects are in the works in Birmingham’s surrounding cities. While some of these projects aim to replace aging facilities and have lined up coincidentally, others are a response to ongoing population growth in different parts of the metro.
Below is a list of new fire stations expected in a city near you in the next few years.
Hoover- No. 1 Fire Station on Highway 31 near Braddock Drive
Last month, Hoover broke ground on a new Fire Station No. 1 to replace the current station that was built over 60 years ago. This station covers Hoover’s Green Valley community which stretches from the northern part of Patton Chapel Road to Vestavia Hills city limits, according to Fire Chief Kevin Bentley.
The station is budgeted at $6 million and is scheduled for completion in July 2025, according to Hoover spokesperson Melanie Posey-Joseph.
“While the original fire station #1 has been renovated and expanded over the years and functioned well for 50 to 60 years, it’s still old and not as functional, modern, and visible as city officials would like it to be,” Joseph wrote in an email to The Birmingham News.
Bentley shared some of the new features that will be included in the station in a previous release.
“The station will be ventilated correctly,” he said. “It’ll have larger bays. This particular fire station will have a bay that the apparatus pulls through, so we don’t have to back up because of Highway 31. It’s going to have a decon and gear washing stations. It’s just going to be a really state-of-the-art facility other than being just a fire station.”
Trussville- No. 4 fire station on Trussville Clay Road near the Civic Center
Trussville’s brand new $9 million station is estimated to be completed this fall, according to City Councilor Ben Short.
Short said the city was hopeful this would increase coverage and shorten response times in growing parts of Northern Trussville.
Calera- New No. 1 Fire Station on the corner of Highway 25 and Calera Eagle Drive
Calera is working on a new $5.5 million station to replace the existing No. 1 station, built in 1980, according to Deputy Fire Chief Shane Stoudenmire. This station covers the area spanning from I-65 eastwards towards Montevallo city limits, Stoudenmire said.
He said the new station, scheduled to be completed in early 2025, is being built to better suit the needs of a growing city and their growing fire department.
Irondale- New No. 3 fire station on Alton Road
Irondale is scheduled to complete construction on their new No. 3 fire station in the second half of 2025, according to a previous article by CBS 42′s Courtney Chandler. This station covers the Roebuck Plaza area and parts of Amber Hills Road and Alton Road that are within Irondale city limits, according to administrative assistant Greg Colby.
The price tag sits between $11 million-$14 million and the new station will feature a hands-on simulation training facility, Chandler reported.
Irondale Fire Chief Josh McDaniel did not respond to requests for comment from The Birmingham News.
Alabaster- Future new fire station at the intersection of Shelby County 11
In May, the city of Alabaster purchased around 4.8 acres of land near the intersection of Shelby County 11 and Shelby County 68 from Specification Rubber for $700,000. Alabaster spokesperson Neal Wagner said the city plans to eventually use the land for a new fire station.
“The long-term plan is for that land to eventually house a new Alabaster fire station, but there are no immediate plans to move forward with that work,” he said. “The council members said it was a good opportunity to go ahead and procure the land so it will already be in the city’s possession once we do decide to move forward with building a new station. Because of the growth the city has seen over the last several years, we know we’ll eventually need to construct new stations and/or relocate existing stations to help serve that growth.”
The cities of Gardendale and Mountain Brook are also spending a combined $10 million on new facilities for their fire departments in the coming year, as The Birmingham News previously reported.
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