Upgrades planned for Chattanooga Fire Department's Fire Station 5

Interim Fire Chief Chris Adams, left, talks with the public before a meeting Saturday in the parking lot of Redemption Point Church in Chattanooga to discuss the construction of a new Fire Station No. 5. Some residents are concerned about the change, which would include a switch from two old firetrucks to a single new truck.
Interim Fire Chief Chris Adams, left, talks with the public before a meeting Saturday in the parking lot of Redemption Point Church in Chattanooga to discuss the construction of a new Fire Station No. 5. Some residents are concerned about the change, which would include a switch from two old firetrucks to a single new truck.

Under an ongoing effort to update firefighting equipment, the Chattanooga Fire Department plans to soon put its last "tiller truck" out to pasture. The long truck, notable for having drivers at both the front and the rear, is currently housed at Fire Station No. 5.

Interim Fire Chief Chris Adams said the department plans to replace Fire Station No. 5 and update its trucks. That means the station will move from two trucks -- a tiller truck with a giant ladder, and an engine truck -- to an all-in-one quint truck, which holds water, pumps water and includes attached and ground ladders. Adams said some residents in the vicinity of Station 5, which serves Highland Park and Missionary Ridge, were concerned that moving from two trucks to one would reduce service.

But at a neighborhood meeting Saturday afternoon, he said the fire department will still have plenty of firefighters and trucks at its nearby stations. And the department plans to add another vehicle to Station 5 as it rolls out a number of "quick response vehicles." Known as QRVs, they are Ford Explorers that will allow firefighters to quickly -- and more fuel-efficiently -- respond to nonfire calls.

The department responds to about 15,000 calls a year, Adams said, though only a couple hundred of them are structure fires. Firefighters help deliver babies. They check on the sick and elderly. And they are often the first to an emergency scene.

"They're there when life goes away. They're there when life begins," Adams said. "It's way more than putting the wet stuff on the red stuff."

Adams expects it will be another year before the fire hall is replaced. The department hopes to build on property near the current station at Kirby Avenue and South Willow Street.

Many residents on Saturday seemed pleased with the fire department's plans.

Olga de Klein, safety committee chairwoman of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood would support having smaller QRVs because firefighters are often the first to respond to medical emergency calls.

"Let's say someone has an allergic reaction to peanuts. They would be there before the ambulance," she said. "In many ways, the quick response vehicle makes a lot of sense."

Fire Capt. Evan Rose said Station 5's traditional combination of an engine truck and a ladder truck will basically be folded into one quint truck.

"We've tried to take everything and just put it in one nice little bag," he said.

Local firefighters picked out the specifications of the new $800,000 quint truck.

"It's going to be designed by firefighters for firefighters," the chief said, "Not by administration that used to be firefighters."

Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

Upcoming Events