A new station will soon be added to the county’s fire protection service.
“There is still a lot of work being done, but we’re within sight of opening,” Catoosa County Fire Chief Chuck Nichols said of the soon-to-open facility.
Located on Enterprise Drive in the West Side community, Station 7 is designed to meet the Catoosa County Fire Department’s needs today and tomorrow, Nichols said.
“The life of a fire station is at least 20 years and we are trying to anticipate future needs,” he said.
Firefighters assigned to Station 7 will provide fire protection to the northwestern areas of the county previously served by Post Volunteer and Fort Oglethorpe fire departments. Post VFD has merged with Fort Oglethorpe’s fire department and Nichols said ties between the three departments will continue.
“We respond everyday with Fort Oglethorpe on common alarms,” the chief said.
This station will be manned round the clock with three career firefighters, augmented by volunteers, working each of three shifts, Nichols said.
The building measures 100 feet by 100 feet with the majority of that heated space being devoted to three drive-through bays, the chief said. The remainder of the station will consist of sleeping quarters – three bedrooms initially outfitted with six bunks – a kitchen, a common room and office space.
A sprinkler system will protect the fire station from fire and a diesel generator is ready to provide backup power, he said.
Firefighters have been hired, equipment readied and more than $410,000 of the county budget is earmarked to staff the station. All that remains is for the city of Fort Oglethorpe to issue a certificate of occupancy, meaning the building meets all code requirements, before Station 7 can be open for business.
“It is nearing completion,” said Catoosa County project administrator Christal Thomas. “A few electrical items need attention, restoration of dirt that was disturbed and a few last minute things – like lettering ‘Fire Lane’ on the curb – remains.”
Officials hoped the station would be open sometime before winter, but a combination of foul weather and the approaching Christmas holiday has meant the opening is now expected after the first of the year.
Thomas said that once a certificate of occupancy is issued the firefighters can move in and get to work.
“We’ll go through the process just like moving into a new house,” Nichols said. “When? I don’t know.”