A ceremony was held and the ribbon was cut as city leaders, county leaders and community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Benton Fire Department’s new fire station, BentonCourier.com reported. 

The station is located on the access road near the Saline County Technical Campus at 12700 Interstate 30 North. 

A fire official said the need for this station came with the announcements of the Saline County Career Technical Campus and Benton School District’s new elementary and middle schools going into the area, the report said.

The new station will respond to calls at the SCCTC, the new elementary school and middle school when they open and the surrounding area, the report said. 

The south side of Baldwin County will extend hours of operation in order to have quicker firefighter response time, 41NBC.com reported.

A fire official said Fire Station 4, at 252 Cooper Road, is one of the oldest volunteer run stations. It was only operational for a few hours during the night.

Adding 24/7 personnel means they can save more buildings from being a total loss, the fire official said.

There will be three 24-hour shifts for three firefighters to alternate, the report said.

With the potential hiring of three new firefighters putting a strain on its budget, commissioners for East Manatee Fire Rescue decided during a September 7 budget workshop to delay construction of a new Myakka City fire station, YourObserver.com reported.

Discussion of the station’s groundbreaking isn’t likely to take place until next spring, making it unlikely the station construction would begin in Fiscal Year 2022-2023. The Fiscal Year begins October 1, the report said.

The new station was to be built adjacent to the existing Station 11, which will be torn down, on Wauchula Road.

A fire official said one reason Myakka City is in need of a new station is that if a storm with Category 3-force winds (111 to 129 mph) or higher hits the area, Station 11 would need to be evacuated, with firefighters and staff needing to go to another station, or possibly moving to Myakka City Elementary, which has a higher rating for storms, according to the report.

Another reason for a new station is simply more space. The new structure will be 10,500 square feet as compared to current structure’s 6,500 square feet, the report said.

The cost of the new station is $4 million-plus, with the emphasis on plus during the current period of inflation and construction delays.

The station’s site plan currently is under review by the county, which is a critical step forward, while engineers and architects are currently working on the design, the report said.