New fire station opens in Hampton

Fire Station 11, Hampton's first new fire station in 24 years, opened July 1, and is expected to reduce emergency response times from as much as 12 minutes down to an average of four minutes, according to a city press release.

The new station will help firefighters meet the national response time standard of four minute travel time 90 percent of the time, said Chief David Layman in the release.

The Big Bethel Road corridor was identified as the best location for a new station in a response time study.

The 14,500-square-foot station includes three apparatus bays; six individual sleep rooms, each with a bathroom and shower; an exercise room; a kitchen; and a training and community room, which will be available for public use when not being used by the department.

The service area includes the Big Bethel Road corridor from the York County line to Michael's Woods, Hampton Roads Center Parkway to Magruder Boulevard, Saunders Road to the Newport News line and Interstate 64 to Mercury Boulevard.

In addition, the new station will reduce call volume for the Northampton Station by an estimated 16 percent and the Marcella Station by an estimated 7 percent.

The station, which cost $3.2 million to construct, features geothermal walls, low voltage lighting, automatic light shut-offs, high-efficiency hot water systems, insulated, tinted windows and other environmentally-friendly features.

The city will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7. An open house for the public will be from noon to 4 p.m. with refreshments, station tours and prize drawings. The station is located at 1304 Big Bethel Road, Hampton. For more information, call 757-727-6094.

Filed under: COMMUNITY