Houston County gets new fire station

HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The local fire department opened fire station station 6 Monday morning.

“We’ll end up being able to make a difference if somebody’s having a heart attack or stroke or has been injured and bleeding we will be there much faster,” says EMT Director David Borghelli.

In case of a fire or emergency, residents’ wait time has gotten a little shorter in Houston County.

The largest fire station in Houston County is now in the middle of a large industrial area. Fire station 6 is the first offering 24 hour coverage in the county.

“Before this station became on line, most of the areas were all more 5 miles away from a fire station, now with this station being in place, that will put them all within 5 miles,” says Chief Jimmy Williams at the Houston County Fire Department.

The station will have one ambulance ready at all times with a paramedic and an advanced emergency medical technician.

“They’ll be able to do all the advanced life support things you can expect from a unit that’s in the middle of the city,” Borghelli adds.

The new station has 4 bedrooms for the fire department and the ambulance service has 2 bedrooms.

Corporal Charles Conley says, “I’m super excited about this. Not just for it being a historical moment for Houston County Fire Department but for the citizens that we protect and we serve, it’s just so much better for them. We can get to them a lot faster in case of an emergency and it helps them out just a sense of security.”

Station 6 is located near the Perdue processing plant and Frito Lay on highway 247 in Kathleen. The original station 6 on Elberta Road closed in December 2008. Funds from the 2012 SPLOST and the department’s reserve fund, were used to build the new station.