New fire station could be done in a year, officials say

After years of planning and a setback, officials could be celebrating the opening of a new east Bibb County fire station in about a year.

Macon-Bibb County officials, emergency responders and neighborhood leaders were among those who gathered Thursday for a groundbreaking at the site, at 3947 Jeffersonville Road, home of a future fire station. The 6,700-square-foot facility will have solar panels for hot water heating and rooms that include offices, a dining space, kitchen, control room and public meeting facility.

Construction officials said Tuesday that the project should be finished about the summer of 2017.

A fire station is a different kind of building because it’s not only an emergency response center but also a place where firefighters live part time, said Will Stanford, a principal with the architectural firm BTBB Inc.

“We have an opportunity here to continue to provide firefighters with a new, state-of-the-art facility and the equipment they need to do their daily heroic work,” he said.

About $2 million of special purpose local option sales tax revenue will be used to build the station, and an additional $750,000 of bond money will purchase some equipment and a fire truck. The contractor for the fire station is International City Builders of Warner Robins.

The station, which will be staffed with emergency medical technicians and other first responders, will expedite services in an area of town that needs it, Macon-Bibb Fire Chief Marvin Riggins said.

“It will make a difference where we know seconds matter,” he said.

The former Bibb County Commission was credited with pushing for several new fire stations, paid for with proceeds from the 2012 sales tax initiative.

Plans to build the fire station on land located at Jeffersonville and Donnan roads were nixed last year when tests uncovered that it was not strong enough to support the weight of the building and equipment. The new site for Fire Station 111 is located less than a quarter mile away.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas said she’s been honored to work with others in seeing that the fire station would not be left on the back burner.

“When we hit that bump in the road with the previous property not being suitable for a fire station, then we regrouped. Our administration and fire department went to work and located this property,” she said.

Two other fire stations — on Heath and New Forsyth roads — have been built in recent years with SPLOST revenue.

The fire station is an example of why the SPLOST is important for Macon-Bibb and the reason why voters should approve another SPLOST in November, said Theron Ussery, who serves on the SPLOST Advisory Committee.

Among the other ongoing construction projects are the Rosa Jackson Community Center and a new $7.6 million south Bibb recreation facility.

“It really makes me as a Maconite feel great that things are getting done and we are making progress,” Ussery said.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 2:40 PM with the headline "New fire station could be done in a year, officials say."