ATLANTA --
Atlanta's city council has voted to pull Atlanta's oldest firehouse off the budget chopping block.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin closed the firehouse last month in an effort to dig the city out of a $14 million deficit.
Hundreds of citizens opposed the move, and the council overwhelmingly voted to overturn the decision.
Public comment on the issue lasted for more than an hour, and the council also debated for an hour. The measure transfers more than one million dollars from other city departments to pay for Station Number 7 for at least another year.
The station served Atlanta's historic West End neighborhood since 1910 and was among the busiest in the city, handling more than 2,600 calls per year.