As announced on Facebook by the Statesville Fire Department, new Station 1 was activated at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, May 20, 2024, with Engine 1, Ladder 1, and Battalion 1 in service in their new quarters on Wilson W. Lee Boulevard. It replaced a 71-year old building at 316 S. Meeting Street, located 0.8 road miles north of the new facility.
Ground was broken on the $14 million fire station on November 30, 2022. The two-story, 26,000 square-foot facility has four pull-through apparatus bays, plus two mezzanines for additional storage and training needs.
Upstairs space has 11 bunk rooms with 33 beds, showers, a large capacity kitchen, training, and fitness areas. Downstairs space has 14 large offices, a conference room, a break room, and large logistical storage rooms. The downstairs will house SFD admin and logistical functions.
The design-build team was Edifice, LLC, and ADW Architects.
The facility is named the William “Woody” Woodard Memorial Fire Station, for the decorated U.S. Air Force veteran, former Statesville Housing Authority manager, and long-time president of the Statesville Branch NAACP. Woodard died on May 21, 2013, at age 77, after a motor-vehicle accident.
The station relocation project started in 2017, to help optimate service coverage and improve response times. City Council approved the site purchase and development in October 2020. The acquisition of the property was completed by February 2021.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting was held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
The former fire station on South Meeting Street was dedicated on April 24, 1953. Designed by architect Tom H. Hutchins, the $91,000 building accommodated “up to eight standard size pumpers.” It also temporarily housed the police department. It’s shown bottom right in a Statesville Record and Landmark clipping from July 21, 1961.
Sources
They include:
https://edificeinc.com/markets/statesville-fire-station-no-1