POOLER, Ga. (WTOC) – To keep up with the rapid growth in Pooler and insure everyone stays safe the city made the decision to add another fire station, their fifth, back in August.
Now, seven months later that station is beginning to take shape.
“We got to get this up, get it running so we can start protecting the area a little bit better than what we are now,” said Pooler Fire Chief Wade Simmons.
Naturally, Chief Simmons is happy to see the progress on Fire Station 5.
“This is kind of the last area of the city that was outside of that four to five minute response time because it is so remote.”
This new station, off Jimmy Deloach on Nordic Drive will cut their response time in half to this area of the city.
That is once it’s complete.
“We’ve had to be a little more flexible than we normally are on these sort of things but we’re working through it,” Chief Simmons says.
Flexible because of supply chain issues.
“Even after we awarded the bid, we had to wait 6 months just to get the steel for the building out here, so that’s delayed us. Bay doors that we’re trying to order that normally take 4 to 6 weeks, 24 weeks,” said Chief Simmons.
Delays in getting crucial materials mean a likely delay for the project as a whole.
“Our plan was 8 to 10 months, this one is going to push us out, we’re probably going to be in the 12 to 13 month range. Some of that depends on the arrival of some of the stuff coming in.”
But delays aside, Chief Simmons is feeling optimistic.
“The simple fact that we’re moving forward, that’s the best thing. We’re getting there, it may not be as fast as we want it to move but it is moving forward, and the building is getting there.”
Good news for the Chief and the residents of Pooler, once completed Fire Station 5 will have one truck and a staff of four.
Chief Simmons hopes to have it up and running by the end of summer.
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