With a rising population and more growth expected over the next 15 to 20 years, Arlington is beefing up its emergency services.
On Friday, Oct. 29, town officials held a grand opening “uncoupling” ceremony for its new $4.7 million Fire Station No. 2, the first station built in Arlington in 23 years.
“It’s an exciting time for us; history in the making,” Arlington Fire Chief Jim Harvill said. “I’ve only been here for four years with the department, but one of the things I was tasked with when I came here was to look into the feasibility of a new station.”
The new 13,500-square-foot station sits on a 2-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Donelson and Airline roads just south of Interstate 40. The town bought the site in 2018, and the new station is more than double the size of Arlington Fire Station No. 1 at Douglass and Airline next to Town Hall.
ViktorHall Construction, LLC completed the work on the building, which features brick and stone, a tower feature at the entrance, and glass doors. The floor plan includes administrative offices, a 24-seat classroom space for training, a fitness center, laundry area and an 11-bay bed sleeping hall that will accommodate the station’s two active crews, consisting of four to five personnel.
“There’s a lot extra in this station that we don’t have in the other station to this extent,” Harvill said.
The department hired 12 firefighters in early 2020 to work at the new station, and they have been training at Fire Station No. 1.
“As we see growth moving to the south, if we have to add an additional company, this station’s already here. So we can put another truck company out of here so we don’t have to build a new structure. It’s already ready for that,” Harvill said.
“We’ve slowly been able to get to that point through adding a second company, adding more personnel, and now to actually have a station. It’s such a benefit to the town,” he said.
Wissman likes that the fire station will provide a place for people in the nearby neighborhoods to get medical aid.
“It’s a long time coming, and I think it shows the commitment to the residents on the south side of Interstate 40,” Wissman said. “This side of the interstate is the future of Arlington. It’s where the growth is going to come eventually. It’s definitely a catalyst to be an anchor on this side of town.”
He notes that Arlington is about half built out now with most of the available land south of I-40. With the new Ford plant going in about 15 miles north, more growth is anticipated.
The station also is strategically placed to improve response times for accidents and emergencies on the interstate and Tenn. 385, according to Arlington Town Administrator Cathy Durant.
“This station … should serve the Town of Arlington well into the future,” Durant said. “We look forward to maybe someday being able to build a new town hall, keeping the characteristics and design of this building hopefully.”
The town paid for the new station from its reserves and did not have to finance any of it.
A $1.2 million quint fire truck (a 107-foot Pierce Ascendant pumper fire engine with ladder) dubbed Truck 71 will remain at Fire Station No. 1 to handle any fires at the industrial park or in the more heavily residential part of town. Truck 72 will roll out of the new station.