Hall Co. to mark opening of 2 new fire stations later this month

GAINESVILLE - The Hall County Board of Commissioners will host two ribbon-cutting ceremonies later this month celebrate the opening of the county's newest fire stations.

The first will be held at 2:00 Monday, April 28, at Station 3, located at 4660 Ledan Extension. The ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of Station 16, located at 4209 Shirley Road, will be held at 2:00, Tuesday, April 29. Tours of both facilities will be available.

County officials say the new locations will improve response times for a number of nearby properties and will also lower home insurance premiums for some homes in the immediate area.

"Improved response times equal a safer community," District 3 Commissioner Scott Gibbs said. "I'm proud that the Hall County Board of Commissioners has been able to offer this higher level of protection to many citizens in my district while also providing them with some relief from insurance costs."

District 2 Commissioner Billy Powell echoed those sentiments.

"These state-of-the-art facilities have been carefully located in order to bring the greatest coverage and savings to citizens," he said. "We're happy to see these stations up and running in such a timely manner."

At the groundbreaking last fall for the new Station 3, Fire Chief David Kimbrell reflected on the history of that station.

"(It) was built as a temporary fire station to start us off and plopped down to cover large areas of the county," Kimbrell explained. "Here we are since 1970 to now and we are still in that temporary fire station."

Hussey, Gay, Bell and DeYoung and Charles Black Construction Company have served as the projects' architect and contractor, respectively.

Construction crews mobilized equipment on the sites in early September. The public is invited to attend both ceremonies.