The Haskell Fire Department was established as a volunteer fire department in 1978 with just one truck -- a 1949 Ford pumper. Today the department has several trucks, including a 2013 fire engine that was purchased new that year, and recently opened a third fire station.
The new fire station is at 411 Arkansas 229, which is on the north end of town.
"Volume is up in this part of town," Haskell Fire Chief Brian Cotten said. "We needed a station on this side of town, especially with the development of the Silver Springs subdivision." Cotten said the department has 18 members and nine emergency medical technicians. The department now operates with part-time, paid employees.
he main fire station, Central Station, is in the middle of town at 121 Cardinal Lane behind the Haskell City Hall. In 2005, the city received $95,000 in general-improvement funds from the Arkansas Legislature to remodel the main station.
The second station, referred to as Station 3, is on Grand Avenue, which is on the other side of the railroad tracks on the east end of town. Cotten said this assures uninterrupted fire protection when there are trains on the tracks.
Construction on this second fire station was started in 2005 and completed in 2006. The city received a $50,000 block grant from the Arkansas Development of Rural Services to build the second station.
The third station, referred to as Station 2, is the newest facility.
Cotten said the city took bids on the new fire station with the lowest bid of $476,000 coming from eco Construction of Little Rock, which completed the project in November 2015.
Construction on the new fire station started in August 2015, and the department moved into the new facility on Nov. 30. It is a 2,500-square-foot meta