Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 5/17/16. Hamilton County Commissioner Jim FieldsHamilton County may buy a $400,000 piece of property for a new Waldens Ridge community fire hall.
In a recent meeting, Commissioner Jim Fields told his colleagues he has worked with Waldens Ridge Emergency Services for more than a year to find a site for a new station to the 36-year-old facility it has outgrown.
"It's very inadequate for their needs," Fields said. "Apparently, when the fire hall was built, it was adequate for the size of the equipment they used then, but the equipment has increased in size since then."
The fire hall, located at 2100 Taft Highway and served by 61 volunteers, has training room space for only 25 people, Fields said. The fire hall has no shower and only one bathroom.
"Our guys can't even shower before they go home at night or fix a pot of hot soup during inclement weather," Waldens Ridge Emergency Service Chief Jimmy Hillis said in a phone interview after the commission meeting. "Ten guys have to fit in one office."
Hillis said the volunteers need a better place, and they have set their sights on a 1.8-acre parcel right next to the current fire hall. The parcel is owned by Jack and Lynnetta Sexton.
Fields said the location makes the most sense as far as spending and providing the same level of response times to the station's coverage area, which includes Signal Mountain, the foot of the mountain and Suck Creek.
"The location is the best of both worlds," Hillis said. "Other properties were cheaper but were astronomical to develop, and moving further north would have cut out some residents from the station's service area."
Fields said it would cost between $800,000 and $3.2 million to prepare some of the other sites because of Signal Mountain's topography.
County Mayor Jim Coppinger confirmed Fields' assessment.
"Unfortunately, this is the cheapest piece [of property] and the cheapest way out," Coppinger said. "We certainly realize it's quite a bit of money to pay for the property, but it's Waldens Ridge and it's driven by the market."
The agreement calls for Hamilton County to own both the new property and the 0.62 acres where the current fire hall stands, now owned by the fire department.
Fields said the department could demolish the old hall and use the space for parking and training.
Volunteer firefighters now train in the highway and the nearby Ace Hardware parking lot, Hillis said.
"They provide invaluable service not only to the Signal Mountain area, but Hamilton County overall because of the fact they back up so many different fire departments and responders in our county," he said.
The department's website says it automatically responds to calls in Signal Mountain, Red Bank and the Lone Oak community.
Commissioners Marty Haynes, Joe Graham and Warren Mackey said they would support the proposal when it comes up for a vote on July 20.
If the county buys the property, Hillis said he hopes construction could begin by next spring. He said a designer will need to create a structural plan before a cost estimate can be developed.
"The building has to fit the needs of the department and last 50 years," Hillis said.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @pleach_tfp.