Fire Station No. 8 sits on Madison Drive on July 9 in Arlington. The fire station is undergoing renovations set to be completed in the fall.
Arlington has made significant headway on its 13.9 million dollar renovation of Fire Station No. 8.
Since the groundbreaking ceremony in January, the project has been underway and is expected to be completed in November.
The 10,000-square-foot two-story building will include three drive-through apparatus bays, dorm rooms, a day room and kitchen. It will also incorporate cancer awareness best practices with extractors to wash the firefighters’ bunker gear, a system to remove exhaust fumes and a cascade system for filling breathing air cylinders.
Lt. Adam Evans, Arlington Fire Department public information officer, said the original station, built in 1978, was becoming a safety hazard. Though it was remodeled in 2005, the nearly 50-year-old building could not meet the growing space needs and had become dilapidated.
“[It got] to where the cost of trying to repair it and update it and do things just didn’t outweigh what it would be to go ahead and build a new, more energy-efficient fire station that could actually house all the equipment we have,” Evans said.
The building’s new frame and exterior are complete, and now the focus is on moving gear and equipment inside, like trucks and extractors. The construction team is also finishing up the masonry work.
While Fire Station No. 8 is being renovated, firefighters are currently operating out of the surrounding fire stations 5, 11 and 17. These stations have helped cover calls in the area, and response times have not been affected despite the construction, Evans said.
“We just appreciate our city using the resources to keep our guys safe,” he said.