The idea to merge has been simmering since June 2018, when Tomah’s mayor Mike Murray vetoed the Tomah City Council’s decision to construct a new $2.9 million TAAS facility on the new Tomah Health campus, Adler said.  

Murray was concerned by the addition of four minutes to the response time to areas of the city north of the railroad tracks. The new hospital is two miles south of the existing ambulance facility.

Located near the Moore County Airport on N.C. 22, the $5.2 million facility is expected to improve response times and reduce insurance premiums for homeowners in northern Southern Pines. According to Cameron, an architectural inspection will be conducted at the station Wednesday.

The property was bought in 2015 by the town, which had searched for years for a suitable location for a second fire station. Local leaders and county officials broke ground at the site in July 2018.  

Financed through a 15-year loan from BB&T, the building was designed by ADW Architects in Charlotte and CLH Design in Cary. Construction was overseen by Resolute Building Company, a Chapel Hill contractor whose portfolio includes several large municipal offices and apartment complexes across the state.