The city of Henderson broke ground Tuesday afternoon on the long-awaited Fire Station #1, a project that has been in the works for years, maybe as far back as a decade ago when the city bought the land where Immanuel Baptist Temple formerly stood.
The 20,071 square-foot building will house administrative offices for the fire department as well as a station where responders will be able to exit out of either of two locations—Second Street or First Street—improving response times to some of the more densely populated areas in the city, according to city officials.
The base bid for the new station is $10.785 million and will be constructed by Arc Construction.
Henderson Fire Department Chief Josh Dixon says the new station to be built at the corner of Second and North Adams streets will also have enough space to house some of the critical apparatuses the department currently places at other stations. That includes water rescue boat and Rescue 1, which is a rescue apparatus, Dixon said.
The chief said the facility will also include an inside training tower that will allow firefighters to train year-round. Firefighters will be able to train on angle rope rescues, confined space, simulated smoke conditions and hose deployment, Dixon said.
The new station will also have a Safe Haven Baby Box which allows mothers in crisis a place to give up their child. According to the Safe have website, “Each box ensures the safe and anonymous surrender of infants.”
Dixon said employees the department will need to receive special training for the Safe Haven Baby Boxes.
According to Mayor Brad Staton, the project has been something the city has been pursuing since it bought the IBT property. A news article said the city approved a resolution to purchase that property in 2016 for $625,000. The church building was demolished in April 2018.
Dixon said the project was pushed by former HFD Chief Scott Foreman but through the years, other city projects got pushed to the front. He said it was an “exciting” day to see the first steps of the project taking place.
The chief said he expects the construction to take 24 months.
