Charlotte Fire Department's $6.7M Upgrade

CHARLOTTE, NC -- The Charlotte Fire Department is playing catch up with the city. The high-growth area near Clanton Road and I-77, the Charlotte Observer reported, is getting a $5.8 million fire station.

But the new station could take three years to open. By the time the station is done, the fire department will likely have to set plans to continue expanding.

Fire Chief Jon Hannan told the Observer that by the time a station or firefighters are added to the force, the city has grown in a new area and the department has to play catch up again.

Hannan also told the Observer that the 2008 recession hindered the department's ability to keep up with the growing city. The southwest area of the city near I-77 often doesn't see response times as low as the fire department would like, which is under six minutes.

Acceptable response times for urban areas are under nine minutes, and suburban areas should see response times ten minutes or less, the Observer reported.

Fire Station 42 on Central Avenue receives more calls than most other stations in the area. An additional $900,000 will pay for an additional 18 firefighters at the station.

Article image via Shutterstock