The Green Valley community came together Thursday to celebrate the long-anticipated construction of the Green Valley Fire District’s new $13 million Station 152, gvnews.com reported.
The new building will replace and sit directly across from the district’s current Station 152 on Camino Del Sol, which is now over 40 years old and has shown its age in everything from outdated bunkrooms to electrical and plumbing issues, the report said.
If all goes to plan, the fire department hopes to move crews into the new station in November 2023.
In 2020, the Green Valley Fire District put forth its first bond initiative to voters, aimed at capital improvements and safety enhancements across the district, and received overwhelming support from residents, according to the report. The $13 million bond was approved by about an 81% margin.
The new station will be about 9,400 square feet, and will be built with a focus on firefighter safety and cancer prevention, a fire official said. The station will be equipped with ventilated turn-out rooms, isolated areas to separate living spaces from bays, special exhaust systems to remove contaminants, and non-porous furniture to keep toxic carcinogens from seeping in, the report said.
Firefighters at the station will also have access to several bunk rooms, a commercial-grade kitchen, a fitness room, office space and three drive-thru bays that will house an engine company and an ambulance, the report said.
WSM Architects, which designed GVFD Stations 151, 155 and several other fire stations, are also the design team behind the new Station 152.