New fire station to serve growing community
BENTON — In 2001, a fire-protection study was done that showed the city of Benton that a new fire station was recommended at the intersection at Arkansas 5 and Salem Road.
“And back then, there was not much back here besides Hurricane Lake Estates, and that was not filled up,” Benton Fire Chief Bill Ford said. “Right now, we have over 1,000 homes in that area that we are going to be able to cover a lot better.
“And the commercial growth in this area further validates that study.”
On Dec. 20, the Benton Fire Department opened up its new station, located behind the Shoppes of Benton at 1400 Arkansas 5 N., for a one-hour tour.
“It eases my concern because we are able to further serve this area,” Ford said. “I was worried about this side of town, but now we have a bunch of good men who are well trained.”
The station, which also works as a police substation, is about 10,000 square feet collectively and cost approximately $2.2 million, which was paid in full by the Public Safety Sales Tax that passed in 2013. Right now, the station houses three to four firefighters per shift, but Ford said occupancy could go as high as seven to eight in the next few years.
“We will have a new engine in here in March, and by that time, it will be paid for as well,” Ford said. “Right now, we are using a reserve engine.”
Ford said the department received a Federal Emergency Management Agency SAFER grant (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) to pay for the
staffing of the new station for the next two years. Ford said the grant will save the citizens more than $900,000 over two years.
“We won’t have a battalion chief out here,” Ford said, “but we built this station so that when we have to split the districts, we will have quarters for a battalion chief.
“I foresee that happening in five to eight years if we continue the growth that we are seeing, and I don’t see any indicators of us slowing down.
“I just see indicators of it picking up.” Ford said he hopes to bring in a ladder truck within the next few years.
“We wanted to be where we could have a multicompany with two bays for further growth,” Ford said. “That way, we can add a ladder truck out here.
“That’s because of all the commercial growth in this area. We wanted to have plenty of room for staffing, and we’ve done that.”
Ford said it was also critical for the new station to be maintenance friendly, thus the finished concrete floors. The new station has a fireman’s pole that begins near the living quarters, dropping crew near the truck. The pole is equipped with a port that opens and closes depending on whether there is weight on the pole, which helps prevent exhaust from reaching the rooms.
“We built this station for the future,” Ford said. “We are going to see more staffing, and this being in a commercial area, we will require an engine and a ladder.”
The new station is one of the biggest stations the department has.
“Our central station is about 10,000 square feet as well, and we have two other stations that are 4,800 square feet,” Ford said. “Our smallest station — the Salem Company House — is 1,800 square feet.”
Ford has been the fire chief since 2011. He said that after the sales tax passed in 2013, he and his assistant chief started looking for property to build a station.
“In 2014, we identified this piece of property,” Ford said. “And if you look around, there is no property around here.
“We were lucky to get this piece of property. Is it ideal? No, but it is good.”
Ford said the property was purchased in 2014, and the Fire Department immediately started making plans in cooperation with the Benton Police Department.
“In the middle of 2015, we started really getting serious on the plan and getting it drawn up,” Ford said. “The whole time, we were banking money for the main objective: When it was built, it would be paid for in cash.” Construction began in March of this year. “We moved in and opened for business on Nov. 30 and started making runs out of this station,” Ford said. “At this time, we can proudly say it is paid for.”
The biggest albatross of the station’s location is the heavy traffic on Arkansas 5 and Alcoa Road.
“It is a two-edge sword,” Ford said. “You like to see the traffic because that’s growth. The downside is, it slows us down, so that’s our biggest disadvantage right now.
“But we look at that as a good thing. We will get around that. When we see Alcoa Road finished and when we see the widening of Highway 5, it is going to be a lot better.”
Ford estimates that the next station will be put near the western side of town.
“We are starting to see growth on the western side of town now,” Ford said. “That’s going to be our next movement — to the west.
“When Benton opened up the River Center on that side of town, it more or less encouraged growth out that way, especially at the 114 exit.”