STATESVILLE, N.C.,None — Statesville Fire Chief David Bullins said the newest fire station is more than just a place to park fire trucks and house personnel.
It also represents an improvement in service to the community and increases the likelihood of saving lives and property.
Bullins spoke as the newest station, Station 4 on Martin Lane, was officially dedicated Sunday afternoon. Firefighters will begin officially responding to calls out of the station on Friday.
He said this station will improve the response time to homes in the eastern part of the city.
Research, Bullins said, shows a response time of six minutes and 20 seconds from the time a 911 call is made greatly increases the chances of containing a fire to the room of origin, which in turn enhances the odds of survival and lessens the fire damage.
Most of the section that will be covered by the new station is residential, Bullins said.
"Ninety-one percent of our fire losses are residential," he said. "This will improve with the opening of Station 4."
Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh said everything about Station 4 is a positive for the city.
"It is an ideal location and an ideal configuration," he said.
Station 4 is the culmination of four years of work by the fire department's building committee. Groundbreaking on Station 4 took place in February 2010. It's been 37 years since the city celebrated the opening of a new station. Station 3, on East Side Drive, was the last station to open in 1975.
Kutteh said this grand opening is a promise fulfilled to the people living in east Statesville.
Bullins said a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol will now fly over Station 4. The flag has special significance in that it flew over the Capitol on May 2, the same day the newest firefighters at the SFD started work. That flag was requested by Rep. Virginia Foxx.
A second flag, called the Flag of Honor, will hang inside the building. That flag, containing the names of the more than 300 firefighters killed during the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, was donated by Bunch-Johnson Funeral Home.
The station officially opened with the uncoupling of a fire hose connection by Kutteh, and then those gathered for the ceremony got a look at the facility.
Outside, the fire department's newest engine, Engine 4, attracted its share of attention as well.
Retired fire captain Tom Coley glanced at the new truck.
"We didn't have anything like this," he said.
Coley was one of a few firefighters who were present at the opening of Station 3 in 1975 who attended Sunday's ceremony.
He said he was impressed with the new station.
"This is really nice," he said.