Fire Station 22’s New Beginning

        Carrollton is getting a new fire station in the city very soon. The brand-new station is replacing the previously existing Fire Station number 22 that was located on Brumbelow Road.  The new Fire Station 22 will be located on at the intersection of Lovvorn and Brumbelow road.

         On April 3, 2017 Fire Station 22 was hit by a tornado causing some of the roof to be removed from the building, a wall to collapse and a tree to fall at the front of the station.  At the time of the tornado, engine crew 22 was present in the building. The three firefighters working at a time in the station were very fortunate as none of them were injured in the incident. The firefighters employed at Station 22 relocated to another fire station in Carrollton, Fire Station 21, for the time being.  

        A resident at the Cottages, a nearby apartment complex, took a video of the disturbance on her phone that went viral. According to students living in The Cottages the roof flew into their complex causing damage to many cars parked behind station 22.  

        “I was sitting in my room and all of a sudden I heard a huge gust of wind and noticed it was pitch black outside, so I ran into my bathroom,” said Bailey Roberts, a resident in The Cottages. “It sounded like a train was hitting the house. I walked outside after and a lot of tree limbs and building scraps were everywhere and I noticed many of the cars had dents in them from being hit.”  

        The first steps in building Fire Station 22 showed that there were issues with the soil causing the engineers to replace the original dirt. The engineers used a higher quality dirt that is able to handle the weight of fire trucks driving on and off the land every day. After making a set foundation for the station the team began building. The new station is in a more suitable spot than the previous station which sat on a hill. The old fire station was not in the best spot with very little land and did not have proper technology or area to interact with the community.  

        “The goal of the new fire station is to make it community friendly. The new fire station will have educational tools and be a place where citizens can come and get educated on fire and weather safety. The plan is to make the new station modernized and have updated technology to draw in the community,”said Jimmy Bearden, Fire Chef.  

        The new fire station is a great addition for the Carrollton community, it is right off of the UWG campus, at the intersection of Lovvorn and Brumbelow road. It could not be in a better spot not only for the community but for the firefighters and fire trucks. The flat surface will make it easy for fire trucks to get in and out. 

        “The fire fighters from Fire Station 22 are very excited about their new work space,” said Bearden. 

        Fire Station 22 is expected to open between June and July if weather permits. The station was originally planned to be completed by April, but due to numerous weather delays the expected date has been pushed back.  

Photo Credits:  Paul Evans