Groundbreaking on a new fire station for Beaumont’s west side got underway Tuesday, and, once open, the new facility is expected to improve response times for nearby communities, including Olivewood, Tournament Hills and Tukwet, Patch.com reported.

Fire Station No. 106, also known as the West Side Fire Station, will cost approximately $10 million to build and will be located on the eastern side of Potrero Boulevard, north of state Route 60. Construction is set to begin in a few weeks and the 10,000-square-foot facility on 1.59 acres is expected to take a year to complete, according to the city.

The station will provide firefighting services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Beaumont contracts for fire services through Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. Staffing at the new station will include three to four personnel, including a paramedic, according to the city.

The Greensburg City Council was updated Wednesday night on the proposed fire station and street department campus project, WRBIRadio.com reported.

Plans call for building on 10 acres on a 20-acre parcel at the corner of Barachel and Broadway, the report said. If all goes well with financing and other factors, construction could begin early next year.

The street department would probably be able to take occupancy of its building in either October or November 2023 and the fire station would go online in March 2024, according to the report.

The new fire station would replace Fire Station One on Ireland Street, which was been in service since 1975 and is considered obsolete.

The street department is looking to move out of its current building on Monfort Street, which is also considered obsolete and cramped.

Florence County Council members will decide if the county will pursue a $500,000 South Carolina Department of Commerce Community Enrichment Grant to buy a fire engine for the Johnsonville Fire Station at Thursday’s meeting, SCNOW.com reported.

The $500,000 grant will be funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

The fire engine’s estimated cost is $675,000. Florence County will provide a local match of 10% of the total grant cost and at least $125,000 to complete the project, the report said.

The city of Johnsonville and Florence County will submit an application to purchase the fire engine for the Unified Fire District. The fire engine will be stationed at Johnsonville Fire Station No. 1, according to the report.

The County Council also will consider the purchase of four ambulances – three for Florence County EMS Department and one for the Johnsonville Rescue Squad, the report said.

Funding is headed to the Kittery Fire Department to address two of the department’s most pressing needs — more full-time firefighters and an expansion of the Gorges Road Fire Station, Seacoastonline.com reported.

A city official Monday night alerted councilors at the Town Council meeting to new estimated costs of expanding the station, a project approved last year, and the status of an application for a federal grant that would bolster the department’s active roster, the report said. 

The estimated price of expanding the Gorges Road Fire Station, a project approved by voters last year, is now $1.5 million, which is $650,000 more, according to the report. The design for the expansion project includes bays, office and bunk space for department and ambulance service members. 

Budget discussions among the Town Council this spring included mention of a potential federal grant to pay for an additional eight full-time firefighters, the report said.

The town applied for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, funding administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with the intent of using the potential funding to staff eight additional full-time firefighters, according to the report. 

If the town receives the grant, it would be on the hook to pay the firefighters’ wages and benefits after the three-year grant runs out, the report said.

The Town Council unanimously agreed to the tax rate change to support adding four full-time firefighters, the report said.