Hoover celebrates new Fire Station No. 9

Published 3:44 pm Sunday, August 23, 2009

The city of Hoover, along with the Hoover Fire Department, held an open house Sunday to show off the new Fire Station No. 9.

The station, located on Legacy Drive in Greystone, serves Greystone Legacy, portions of Greystone Founders and provides backup for the rest of Greystone, the U.S. 280 corridor and Inverness.

During the open house, Hoover Fire Chief Chuck Wingate said the station is a valuable addition to the department.

“It’s great to have a new station in such a wonderful community as the Legacy,” he said. “There are so many things to be thankful for. We couldn’t be here today without our mayor and council.”

Rodney Fuller, Greystone Legacy resident and president of the homeowners association, said the community is happy to know that emergency help is available if needed.

“Just to know they are close at hand if you need them is a comfort,” he said.

Wingate said firefighters from Station No. 9 could reach any home in Greystone Legacy within 4-6 minutes. It is the fire department’s goal to reach any home in Hoover within 4-6 minutes, and the Greystone station will help the department to do just that, Wingate said.

“That’s idealistic, but that’s where we want to be,” he said.

The fire station houses a permanent power source, which is a mounted natural gas generator; added storage for the fire apparatus; a hose tower for drying fire hose properly; and a cardio and weight room. The station also houses an Advanced Life Support-equipped fire engine.