Roanoke County dedicated its newest fire and rescue station, the first new one in 20 years, on Thursday, October 22. County leaders and firefighter/emergency medical technicians were on hand to cut the ribbon at the North County Fire & Rescue Station, located at 150 Hershberger Road.
Under construction for 16 months and completed within budget, the $4.2 million station features more than 16,000 square feet, with living and office space for three 24/7 shifts, three drive-thru apparatus bays, training and exercise rooms and a back-up emergency generator. The date of dedication coincidentally fell within National Fire Prevention Month.
“This is more than a building of brick and mortar. It is a home to three shifts of Roanoke County firefighters,” said Rick Burch, Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Chief. “This is a proud moment in my career,” he added.
While the station is not Leadership and Environmentally Designed (LEED) certified, there are several notable green features, such as the shrubs and plants that are native vegetation requiring minimal or no watering, white concrete on outdoor parking and turn-out areas to limit heat emissions, plus products and materials in building that use pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content.
“This is a model that Roanoke County can use for future fire stations,” remarked Richard Flora, member of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors (Hollins Magisterial District). The Board of Supervisors had approved construction of the new station in May 2008, due to the ever-increasing number of phone calls for fire and emergency services in north Roanoke County.
Formerly the busiest station in Roanoke County, the Hollins Fire & Rescue station will now experience a decreased call volume, which will help to improve response times throughout the system.
The Hollins station previously received almost one third of the call volume for all fire and rescue calls received by Roanoke County Fire & Rescue. Due to the large call volume in North County, a large number were turned over to other crews, some as far away as the town of Vinton. When that happened, response times to North County calls increased considerably.
“The addition of this station will provide relief for the rest of Roanoke County,” said Flora, who is up for reelection next week against political newcomer Charlene Waybright. Flora also pointed out that Bonsack is the only station with all volunteers, instead of career (paid) personnel. “We will be running a lot of calls to the Bonsack area,” he noted. Mike Altizer, chairman for the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, said the new station is a “fabulous facility with a wonderful group of people who staff it.” He remarked that when a call comes in and another station has to provide coverage, it provides a “trickle down effect” as more come in.
Adjacent to the Samuel Hershberger House (listed on the National Registry of Historic Places), exterior features of the new station include a stone façade, designed to complement the historic home, which was built in 1797.
By Susan Ayers [email protected]