Hoover breaks ground for 11th fire station in Trace Crossings
Hoover city officials today broke ground for the city’s 11th fire station — in the Trace Crossings community — and said they hope to have it operational in early 2021.
Signature Homes, the developer behind the newest phases of Trace Crossings and the adjacent Blackridge community, donated the land for the station and is building it at the company’s own cost.
The will be at the corner of Stadium Trace Parkway and Langston Ford Drive, just south of the turn to Bumpus Middle School, Bentley said. Putting the station there should greatly improve response times in western Hoover, fire Chief Clay Bentley said.
Right now, everything along Alabama 150 from Lake Cyrus to Hoover Toyota and communities along South Shades Crest Road, Shelby County 13 and Shelby County 93 is served by Hoover Fire Station No. 6, which is near Deer Valley, Bentley said.
That station’s territory is roughly 14.7 square miles, Bentley said. Station No. 11 essentially will cut that territory in half, giving each station about 7 square miles to cover, he said.
Station No. 11 will pick up calls along Alabama 150 on the east side of Interstate 459 all the way to Hoover Toyota, including calls in Trace Crossings and Blackridge, Bentley said.
Station No. 6 will continue to be primary Hoover station covering communities along South Shades Crest Road, Shelby County 93 and Shelby County 13 (south of Shelby County 52).
Hoover homes in that southwesternmost area on the south side of Shelby County 52 still will remain more than five miles from Station No. 6, but Hoover gets automatic aid from the Helena Fire Department to serve those homes, Bentley said. Helena can arrive quicker than Hoover in those areas, he said.
But the addition of a new station in Trace Crossings will greatly enhance response times in the Station No. 11 territory, which includes the busy Hoover Metropolitan Complex and three schools, the chief said. Right now, “it’s a good hike over there” from Station No. 6, he said. There also are still about 1,600 more homes to be built in that territory, he said.
The new 8,800-square-foot station will include three pull-through bays, an emergency operations center for the Hoover Met complex, a classroom, kitchen, dining room, living area and sleeping quarters, Bentley said.
Signature Homes will spend up to $1.5 million to build it, but the station likely will be worth $2.3 million to $2.4 million, he said. The city likely will spend $200,000 to $300,000 for things such as furniture, lockers, a generator and fuel tank, he said.
“It’s going to be a very nice station,” Bentley said. “We’re very excited about this.”
The plan is to staff it with 11 firefighters. That will provide three people on duty at all hours every day, including people to cover for off days, Bentley said.
Eight of those firefighters were hired in fiscal 2019 and have been working out of Station No. 6, and three more people are expected to start work Jan. 4, 2020, he said. The three newest will work from Station No. 2 in The Preserve until Station No. 11 is completed, he said.
The three newest firefighter positions were added with help of a federal grant that will cover 75 percent of their salaries and benefits for two years and 35 percent for the third year, Bentley said. The city must pick up the full cost in the fourth year, he said.
The Fire Department plans to move a truck with a 75-foot ladder from Station No. 6 to Station No. 11, as well as put a reserve rescue unit, reserve ladder truck, reserve fire engine, an inflatable boat with a trailer and some specialty water rescue equipment there, Bentley said.
The boat and water rescue equipment will come in handy for both the 100-acre lake in Blackridge, lakes in Trace Crossings and the Cahaba River, where Signature Homes plans to build a canoe launch area, the chief said.
Signature Homes should have the station built in 12 to 18 months, Mayor Frank Brocato said. Bentley said he is optimistic that firefighters will be working in it by January or February 2021.
Brocato told the crowd at today’s groundbreaking that the construction of the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium was a great catalyst for a lot of growth in the western part of Hoover.
But with that growth comes the need for additional public safety investments such as this fire station to ensure that Hoover residents and visitors continue to enjoy good police, fire and emergency medical services, the mayor said.
The mayor thanked previous city leaders who had the vision to plan for a fire station in that area and the current City Council that provided the money to staff and equip it. He also thanked Signature Homes for the company’s investment into the community.
Bentley noted that the Hoover Fire Department has a Class 1 rating by the Insurance Services Office, which is the highest possible rating, but said the city must continue to invest in fire and emergency medical services in order to maintain that rating as the city grows.