A new fire station is now open and ready to respond to emergencies in East Lake and elsewhere in Chattanooga when needed. The station was designed to fit into the residential character and scale of the neighborhood.
Construction of the new Station 9, located at 3250 8th Avenue, began in the fall of last year. It cost approximately $1.5 million to build.
All 15 firefighters assigned to the old fire hall will now be working out of the new Station 9.
In a nod to the fire department’s rich tradition dating back to 1871, the brass fire pole was moved from the old fire hall to the new one, where it will remain on display. The Chattanooga Fire Department stopped using fire poles because they resulted in too many unnecessary ankle sprains and other injuries.
The one-story, double bay station was designed by Artech Design Group. The 5,943-square-foot building is designed to be energy and resource efficient and is a LEED-certified building. The materials were selected to have high recycled content and to be sourced from this region.
The building is fully sprinklered and is equipped with a natural gas powered generator.
At a grand opening ceremony, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Fire Chief Lamar Flint symbolically dedicated the fire station by having a fire truck drive through fire scene tape that is normally used on real fire scenes.
“This is a modern, energy efficient fire station where everything is new and they have much more room,” Flint said. The old Station 9, built in 1929, was too small to accommodate the larger, modern fire apparatus and was too old and costly to maintain.
