Fire Station 27 will be closed until an assessment of the station is completed. The assessment is to ensure the safety of the firefighters and other employees of the station.  

The assessment comes after a local attorney representing firefighters said they found asbestos and mold in the station.

Station 27 is located at 401 Huffman Road. To ensure coverage of the area, a contingency plan has been implemented to distribute crews and other equipment to the community.

Last month the City Council unanimously approved a nearly $1.2 million contract for the improvements to the Knoxville Fire Department's current alert and dispatch system for all of its fire stations, which was purchased in 1985 and partially upgraded in 2002. It is currently no longer supported, leaving the system vulnerable to catastrophic failure, according to the city.  

Currently, when a part breaks, KFD will purchase a replacement off eBay because parts are no longer manufactured, KFD Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks said during a tour of a station Friday. Parts of the system are held together by “shoestrings and bubblegum,” he said.

The Fire-Rescue Department will have eight new fire engines and two new brush engines to combat fires around the city. The department will also be getting a new helicopter later this year, according to the city. Six of the new engines will deploy to fire stations around the city next week.  

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Councilwoman Monica Montgomery and Fire-Rescue Chief Colin Stowell held a news conference at the department’s Logistics Center to announce the fleet additions. Each of the fire engines carry 500 gallons of water, 2,750 feet of fire hose and include a pump that can spray water up to 1,500 gallons per minute. The brush engines carry 500 gallons of water and 1,650 feet of hose while having the capability to spray 500 gallons of water per minute.

Fire Chief Paul Lolli said the new pumpers are fully equiped but will have the final installation of charging units for portable radios and flashlight, and other items, before being placed into service. Lolli said one of the new pumpers will operate out of Station 81 downtown and the other pumper will be stationed at fire headquarters Roosevelt Boulevard.

The ceremony dates to the time of the horse drawn fire equipment, when firefighters had to push the units into firehouses because horses could not back the units in, Oconee Station 8 Fire Chief Keith Kelly said.  

The new ladder truck cost $880,000 with an additional $80,000 for equipment, he said. The truck is capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water a minutes and the ladder has a 70-foot reach.  

It’s the second ladder truck owned by Oconee County Fire and Rescue, which depends on volunteers to operate. A ladder truck was placed in the Watkinsville station in 2003.