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In March of last year the Wake Forest
commissioners agreed with then-Fire
Chief David Williams Jr.’s proposal for
a third fire station on the west side of
town, a station he planned to open in
January of 2008.
The commissioners
unanimously agreed to fund about 75
percent of the construction cost of
$1.32 million and to support the
increased personnel cost. Wake County
was to pay about a quarter of the
construction cost because of the amount
of county area to be served.
The plan for the station
hinged on developer Jim Adams donating
about 2 acres on the former
Parker-Hannifin plant site, which he is
redeveloping as a shopping center.
Adams’ plans have been
delayed for a number of reasons, and the
fire department board of directors has
grown unhappy with the site near the
Kearney Road-Wake Union Church Road
intersection.
Instead, they are now
exploring purchasing land owned by
Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary in the triangle cut off when
Stadium Road was realigned to meet
Jenkins Road at Capital Boulevard.
When Chief Jerry Swift came
on board last summer, he surveyed the
department’s coverage and the growth of
the town and quickly recommended there
be three new stations, not just one. The
fire board is looking at sites on
Forestville Road to the south and Wait
Avenue to the east.
The board has not chosen or
purchased any site. “We’re still in the
research stage,” Swift said Tuesday. “We
don’t have anything that’s concrete
yet.”
The current stations are
Station #1 on East Elm Avenue and
Station #2 on Ligon Mill Road.
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