RURAL HALL, N.C. — A new fire station is coming to Rural Hall.
Saturday morning the town hosted a ground breaking to celebrate the start of the building process.
The construction site is adjacent to the current fire department near the intersection of Broad Street and Rural Hall-Germanton Road.
Town leaders said the new station will help firefighters get out the door and to you faster during emergencies.
"It will serve as home for firefighters who spend about a third of their time here," Mayor Terry Bennett said.
"The design of the new station has been developed around the apparatus bay, which is pretty much the heartbeat of the fire station," Fire Chief Simone said, "Everything was designed about us getting to those trucks and that apparatus bay because that is where we make up a lot of our time getting to a scene."
The fire department first started in Rural Hall in the late 1940's. Since then, the building was last remodeled in the 1980's.
Town leaders said they would like to add to their fleet once the new department is in operation. Currently, there are three staffed firefighters per shift.
"As our community continues to grow, we are looking at expanding to make sure that we have the adequate response on each shift for our fire department," Town Manager Homer Dearmin explained."
The expansion is made possible through $3.8 million in state funds.
Once the station is fully constructed homeowners will get some financial benefit.
Dearmin said your fire insurance premium should go down.
"With the reduced rating we already have, plus the increase in response time from a new fire station. Homeowners should see a savings in their homeowners insurance policy." he said.
Construction is set to begin this month, town officials hope to open the fire station in Fall of 2025.
This an added benefit as the town celebrates it's 50th year anniversary called "Rural Fest" throughout the entire weekend.
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