Sanford celebrates groundbreaking for new fire station

Mark Rogers, The Sanford Herald, N.C.
·4 min read

Aug. 31—As Sanford city officials have watched the community's growth over the past decade, one thing has been apparent — with that growth, the fire department had to grow as well.

On Tuesday, ground was officially broken for the new Station 5, which will be located at 3945 Colon Road. The location is close to U.S. 1, the Carolina Enterprise Park and several new housing developments that are currently under construction.

Sanford Fire Department Chief Matt Arnold, retired Fire Chief Wayne Barber, firefighters, Sanford City Council members, representatives from national officials' offices, State Rep. John Sauls and others joined ADW Architects and Central Carolina Contractors for the ceremony.

Work began on the project after the final details were approved by council earlier this year.

Mayor Rebecca Wyhof Salmon welcomed those in attendance and spoke of the importance of the new station.

"Public safety is an incredibly important priority for all levels of government, but especially here at the local level, it is one of our primary duties and responsibilities to make sure that we provide a safe and protected place for all of our residents," she said. "We have an amazing set of public servants that day in and day out protect our community."

Salmon said it had been more than three decades since a new fire station had been built in Sanford.

"This has been a long time in coming," she said. "We have seen tremendous growth in this past 30 years. There is still so much more to come. When this growth pattern in our community started to become evident, it was apparent that this was the right place to put a fire station. This will truly be a gateway to our community. We could not be more proud to have this along our major corridors to welcome people into our community and into our region and to make sure w'ere putting Sanford's best foot forward."

Salmon said the station represents a significant investment in the community — with $12 million slated for the construction and equipment for the station. In addition, the city is hiring 21 new firefighters to staff it.

"As we expand our city, this will allow us to have better response times to our newly annexed areas and to free uproar resources through the city to make sure we are meeting that need," she said.

During the ceremony, Fire Department Chaplain Father Craig Lister provided the invocation, Sam Shumate spoke on behalf of U.S. Sen. Ted Budd,Georgia Lozier spoke on behalf of Rep. Richard Hudson and Stephanie Blair spoke on behalf of Sen. Thom Tillis.

Fire Chief Matt Arnold also spoke about the new station before officials and firefighters ceremonially turned the first dirt.

"We know that things like this don't happen overnight," Arnold said. "We have heard that common theme that it takes village, it takes a lot of people and a lot of time to make this happen. This project has been in the works for many years and it's exciting to see it begin to take shape. Any project of this magnitude only occurs as a joint effort between a lot of people."

Arnold said that though the plans were set in motion long before he arrived, he was proud to be a part of it.

"Thank you to Chief Wayne Barber and Deputy Chief Ken Cotten for their dedication and guidance to get the project to this point," he said. "I'd also like to recognize (former) Mayor (Chet) Mann."

He also gave credit to many department members for their input on layout and other items. He included retired Battalion Chief Steve Cox, Capt. Brandon Chapman, Driver/Operator Joel Johnson and Philip Johnson.

"This station is a symbol of the growth our city is experiencing and will continue to experience in the future," Arnold said. "This station is also a visual representation of the support the city continues to show our fire department."

Arnold also recognized council, the mayor, City Manager Hal Hegwer, and the community for their support in the endeavor.

"This state of the art fire station will be able to facilitate our continued mission of providing rapid and excellent service to the residents of the City of Sanford," Arnold said. "We will continue to plan for the future, all while remaining focused and committed on the present. It is an honor for me to represent the city and the fine firefighters of the City of Sanford Fire Department."