Fire station five, which is located on Bartlett was built in the early 1950’s and is expected to close for several months.

In the meantime, fire station number six, which is located on Maher Avenue will be taking the load off the fire station as well as its employees and fire stations.

Armed with the findings of a fire station site study prepared by North Andover's Carlson Group, a firm that specializes in public safety infrastructure, the fire chief outlined how new assisted living facilities, a series of large-scale apartment buildings, and other developments around the edges of town will dramatically alter the needs of an already changing fire department landscape.  

"We're in a 100-year-old building, and it's full. We're running out of space and we're kind of getting to the point where next time we buy a fire truck, there's not going to be a place to put it," he said.  "We need to start discussing the future.  We're looking at the growth in the southern part of town, and it's certainly an issue."   

When in operation, Station No. 2 in Garden City houses three firefighters and two EMS workers. For the time being, crews have been relocated to Station No. 1 in Murrells Inlet, about 2.5 miles away.

The department is working with a local mold remediation company to remove the mold and anything else harmful to workers at Station No. 2.