Officials with Hall County Fire Rescue and Hall County Government broke ground Tuesday afternoon on a new fire station that will serve residents in South Hall County.
Construction of Hall County Fire Station 17, located on Holiday Road in Buford, is projected to be complete in March 2024, according to Hall County Officials. The facility will be located about four miles from Lanier Islands.
The $6.3 million project is funded through Hall County SPLOST VII, SPLOST VIII, impact fees and the capital projects fund.
"We're service oriented ... the cornerstone of what we do is providing service, running calls," Hall County Fire Chief Chris Armstrong said in an interview with AccessWDUN. "We always want to do the best we can for our citizens. This is just another component of making sure that we're providing excellent service."
Armstrong said the south end of Hall County has experienced a lot of growth in recent years, leading to a higher emergency call volume. He said Fire Station 17 will help keep response times in the area low, even amid that continued growth.
Hall County Public Works and Utilities Director Bill Nash said the station will be about 9500 square feet and will feature three bays. Additionally, the station will feature a 9000 square feet storage area.
Armstrong said this will allow one ladder truck and one ambulance to operate out of the station. Six people will be staffed at the station on a 24/7 basis.
The station is intended to relieve pressure from Hall County Fire Station 8 and Fire Station 5.
Hall County Fire Station 17 will also operate as the primary station for Hall County Fire Rescue's Marine Rescue Team once complete.
"In July of this year we anticipate ordering a new fire boat," Armstrong said. "It will take us about 12 to 18 months to get it in, and then we'll keep that down at Holiday Marina and our people from Fire Station 17 will respond to the boat. It will actually put us closer to the water to respond to those types of emergencies."
"This has been a project many years in the making, and this groundbreaking really is representative of Hall County's commitment to the protection of our citizens and the safeguarding of the Hall County community," Hall County Administrator Zach Propes said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
A full photo gallery from the groundbreaking can be viewed at the top of this story.
