By Ashley McLeod, Staff Writer
Apr 30, 2015, 16:14
CHESTERFIELD — After more than 40 years of planning, the Harrowgate Fire Station 21 celebrated its grand opening on Sunday, April 26.
The station, located at 16901 Harrowgate Road, serves the southern communities of Chesterfield County, including those on Harrowgate Road and Route 1.
“This station will allow the Fire and EMS Department to better protect over 8,000 residents,” Fire Chief Loy Senter Jr. said at the ceremony.
The idea for this fire station was first thought of in a study in 1973. The study recommended that the station be built sometime in the 1980s.
Original plans for the station were drawn up in 2004 when it was approved as part of a bond referendum. After the land was purchased, designs for the station were created, but the construction of the station was delayed.
“Due to the downfall of the economy in 2008, the building of station 21 was delayed for a very long time,” said Dorothy Jaeckle with the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors. “We all knew that as soon as there was an indication of a turnaround, the building of Station 21 needed to move forward.”
Due to budget shortfalls, the construction of the fire station was put on hold until the money was available in the budget to complete the construction.
After looking at the county map of area response times, it became clear that the need for this station was still growing. Response times around the area of the station were averaging more than nine minutes, greater than what normal response times are expected to be.
Construction on the fire station began in April of 2014 with an estimated cost of $7,439,600 for the full project, with construction costs of $3,699,000. After almost a year of construction, the fire station began operations in February of 2015.
According to Jaeckle, in the 60 days the firehouse has been open, the average response time for priority one incidents has improved from nine minutes and 24 seconds to seven minutes and 54 seconds. Response times for all calls to the station have improved an average of 51 seconds.
The fire station is much like others in the county; it includes a gym, full kitchen, as well as sleeping quarters. But this station was designed differently than others in the county. Instead of cinderblock, the station is a steel-framed building, which is more cost-effective and allows for an easier way to make changes to the framework if needed in the future.
At the ceremony, the new station welcomed members of the community to tour the station and get to know those who are there to protect the community.
“To the citizens of the communities along Harrowgate Road and the southern Route 1 corridor, this is your fire station,” Senter said. “Please know that the firefighters inside this station, under the leadership of Captain Tommy Tucker, stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice in your time of need and are committed to being an integral part of this community.”
