Five years after the idea was first brought forth, the West Jackson Fire Department is getting a second fire station.
The new station will be located on Ednaville Road in Braselton, and should be serviceable by the end of 2019, if all stays on schedule, said Chief Ben Stephens with the West Jackson Fire Department.
"Our area is growing rapidly. The other thing is, with traffic getting worse ... there's definitely been a decrease in our response times to that side of our district, just because getting through traffic from [the current station] can be a bear," said Stephens.
Currently, the lone station in West Jackson is staffed with three firefighter/EMT's 24 hours per day, and starting in 2019, that number will bump up to four -- splitting into two per station once Station 2 is completed.
The new station should also lower insurance premiums for some homeowners, especially those near the Gwinnett/Hall/Barrow intersection.
"There's a neighborhood off of Highway 211, Mulberry Park. You go through Barrow and Gwinnett counties. You cross a bridge and you're back in Jackson County," said Stephens.
Since houses in the back of that neighborhood are more than a five mile drive away, homeowners are paying north of $3,000 for their homeowner's insurance, where more other local homeowners are paying in the ballpark of $1,000 per year.
"It's definitely something we want to take care of for those people," said Stephens.
Having a second fire station will also alleviate the concerns of a natural disaster. Should a storm, tornado or other destructive force pass through West Jackson County, there's a lesser chance of the fire department being without a station.
The station will cost between $1.8 and 2-million dollars, and will be funded by a bond approved via an intergovernmental agreement between the West Jackson Fire Board and the Braselton Public Facilities Authority.
The debt service will be paid over 15 years, Stephens said.
The project was first proposed in 2013, but got put on hold while the economy recovered.
