Little Rock dedicated its first new fire station in 20 years on Monday. KUAR’s Kezia Nanda attended the opening. You can listen to her report above.
Instead of a ribbon cutting, the grand opening of Fire Station number 23 was marked by fire fighters uncoupling a fire hose and pushing one of their trucks into the new station.
"This fire station would not have been built without the assistance from the federal government and the gracious contributions and votes from our citizens in the sales tax election," Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola told the crowd.
Fire Chief Gregory Summers says the new station on Rahling Road in west Little Rock will help his department’s response time for emergencies.
"I can assure you that the Little Rock Fire Department will not only be here when you need us, but we will be good neighbors as well," Summers said.
Congressman Tim Griffin was on hand as well, telling the crowd he had a first-hand experience demonstrating the importance of having a fire station nearby.. He recalled the day his neighbor called him, saying Griffin's house was on fire.
"Fortunately, the first responders, the fire station was, I can almost hit the fire station with a rock, I wouldn’t do that, but it’s right down the road. And so they were there like that," said Griffin.
The last time Little Rock built a new fire station was in 1992.