Tenn. Firefighters Help Upgrade Main Station

Bradley County firefighters are helping to save a little money while making improvements on their own at the main station downtown.

According to interim Bradley County Fire Rescue Chief Troy Spence, there will be at least a 50 percent savings with the firefighters working double duty to tear up asphalt at the rear of Station 8 located on Inman Street, then replace the asphalt with six inches of special concrete.

Initial preparation work has been completed and the city of Cleveland will be working to get drainage to the correct elevation.

“Asphalt at the rear of the station had sunk under the weight of the equipment trucks,” Spence said.

“Each truck weighs approximately 70,000 pounds and this is an area where maintenance and cleanup is perfomed on the vehicles,” he added.

“They are pulling a double duty to remove and prep the area for concrete which we expect to be poured soon,” Spence said.

Spence said firefighters have been cleaning up the building as well as reorganizing BCFR’s main station.

“We are preparing to receive new trucks for the new fire stations which will be completed in 2013,” Spence said.

“The trucks will be coming here to be outfitted, then dispatched to the stations as those buildings are completed,” he added.

On Friday, firefighters completed the initial prep work for the new concrete which is estimated to be at least 91 yards.

“A professional service would cost us $22,000 for this. We plan on spending half or less of that figure. Jonathan Porter of Porter Concrete Finishing is donating his time to finish the concrete and other volunteers include Phillip Shelton, Steve Keasler and Nathan Mathews.

“Battalion Chief Don Tankersley is overseeing the project,” Spence said.

The volunteers, including Porter, are all members of BCFR.

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