Construction work has begun on the rebuilding of a fire station in Eufaula, AL, after a tornado leveled the building back in March.
WTVM reports that a frame for the new Northside station was erected this past Thursday.
“Get things back to normal. They’re in a makeshift station, so they can service residents on this end of town. It’s great to get this done and it’s going to be super nice,” said Mayor Jack Tibbs.
Tibbs tells WVTM that the city had to re-engineer the design and update codes for the structure, adding a stronger, wider metal framework and doubling the number of bolts used to hold the structure down on the foundation. A tornado safe room was also designed to handle wind speeds up to 250 miles per hour.
“In engineering it we put in a safe room. During the tornado event we had two firemen here and they’re mighty lucky they didn’t get hurt. They got inside the bathroom and just hunkered down. When it was all over. They looked up and saw sky when the tornado passed,” said Tibbs.
Tibbs says the bulk of construction costs is covered through insurance and grant money and that he expects firefighters to move from their temporary quarters at a nearby airport terminal to the new station by December.
The tornado also damaged a department apparatus, which has been replaced with insurance money.
