Augusta Commission members and fire department officials gathered downtown Monday for the groundbreaking for a new fire station.
The new station at 928 Telfair St. will take over coverage for Fire Station No. 3 on Reynolds Street. The new station will be Fire Station No. 2 when completed.
Fire Chief Christ James said Fire Station No. 3 is currently backed up to the river, so the new station will allow firefighters to cover a larger area. Also, the location is ideal because of train tracks that pass through downtown.
James said the new station is an important step in continuing to serve the community.
"It's very important as we move forward – as our city grows, as our population grows – how we set up and align our stations, how we put ourselves in a better position to be efficient, provide the maximum amount of services with all of the resources we have," James said. "This is the first station we are building out of three. By us realigning it, being more efficient, being more effective is going to be better for the citizens."
"In this particular area, it will bring them off the river, where they have a better response area around them. When you put the station next to the river, they can only respond in one direction, so, in some cases, it's going to actually put them closer to some of the areas that they respond to," James said. "The reason this piece of property was important was because we were able to get it inside the train tracks."
The fire department is also building a fire station on Gordon Highway near Fort Gordon and plans to build a fire station at Deans Bridge Road and Windermere Drive. When all are finished, the department will have 20 stations throughout Augusta.
The new station will have separate sleeping quarters for each employee and modern technology, James said. The department hopes to put maintenance buildings on the back of the property and make the station one of its central hubs downtown.
The $3 million station was funded using special purpose local option sales tax funds and voted on by residents before being approved by the commission. District 2 Commissioner Dennis Williams said it's important to support things happening around the community.
"As far as I know, I'm going to basically support the chief if he keeps continuing in the route that he is going because we got quality leadership in the department," Williams said. "All the employees seem to be happy, and they are providing good services to the community."
James said he feels residents and the commission have done a good job in supporting the fire department.
"This is the citizens and the governing body telling us, as the fire department, 'We support your mission. We want you guys to truly be prepared to do what you need to do,'" James said. "This just shows you how dedicated they are to public safety."
The new station on Telfair Street is expected to be completed by the end of the year. RW Allen has been contracted to complete the project.
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