The town is presenting a proposal to the public this week to purchase a property on Route 32 to use for a new fire station to replace the Central Station. Town Administrator Mike Brantley said the current situation with the fire station needs to be addressed. The space lacks a secondary exit, Mattson said, meaning it is considered unsafe if it ever catches fire. Then there’s the problem of the exhaust, Mattson said. The diesel engine on the fire trucks leak exhaust up into the town hall building where town staff works. The proposal is to purchase the 4-acre property on Route 32 and put the fire station there. The cost of the purchase is $125,000. There’s no firm design plan in place or estimated total cost yet for the project. There is an existing building on the property that could be renovated into becoming the station.  

City Manager Joe Valentine said the new fire station will not only benefit the residents of Birmingham, but all neighboring communities whenever mutual aid is needed in nearby communities.  

"With the evolution of fire service responses and the integration of mutual aid assistance ... it's something that's going to serve everyone in this area better," he said. "We're proud to have this building be part of that."

Anyone who orders a pizza in that two-hour span may be randomly selected to find their pizza arriving aboard a fire engine from the Massena Volunteer Fire Department. If the smoke alarms in the home are working, the pizza is free. If not, the firefighters will install fully-functioning alarms or replace batteries at no cost to the resident.  

It’s all part of National Fire Prevention Week, which runs from Oct. 7 to 13, and is a partnership among the Massena Domino’s, the National Fire Protection Association and Massena Volunteer Fire Department to promote fire safety. This year’s campaign theme is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.”

In August, the council adopted a 2-cent increase to the city’s property tax rate to cover a newly-issued $2 million bond to replace two aging firetrucks. Moore and Youngblood also voted against the new tax rate at the time, though both had voted two weeks earlier in favor of taking out the $2 million debt.  

The pumper is an already complete demo model and is expected to arrive in Bellmead in 45 to 60 days, Ridings said.The ladder truck is being built specifically for Bellmead and is expected to arrive in 14 to 15 months, he said.