(The Center Square) – With the rising concern of fires to properties in Shreveport, Fire Chief Clarence Reese Jr. gave the city council an update on the current state of Station 20 and the temporary station location.
Station 20 closed temporarily back in August 2023 after mold and mildew were found creating a health hazard for the members. Privates from that station were relocated. The new station is estimated to cost $1.5 million to $1.6 million.
According to Chief Reese, the temporary station and location will require some work before it is operable. After being addressed by Council member Grayson Boucher, Reese said the site work will cost about $15,000.
“There was a fire alarm that came in yesterday. Thank God it was a false alarm, but of course, that increased response time scares me every time I hear the radio go off or anything near the port area,” said Chief Reese.
Boucher confirmed the council is prepared to move money to get the station finished. However, they have not seen progress in the last two weeks on a temporary station going up in this part of town, which raises concerns.
“The port is one of our biggest economic drivers, and I’m concerned about the neighborhoods around,” said Councilman Boucher. “We already talked about the fire death that we had on East Kings Highway.”
Boucher made the chief aware of the rising concern in the area from residents. There are many nursing homes and retirement villages in the area that people are concerned about.
The $15,000 for site work includes SB2 rock, electricity, and moving water. Another problem at the temporary station location is that all the wire was stripped, causing problems getting trucks in and out of the station because the garage doors do not work.
The department is exploring other options, including generator power and potentially storing the trucks outside for a limited period. However, this could affect their class 1 fire rating as the trucks need to be covered.
“Whatever you need and whatever the administration needs for us to get the funding, I think the council is 100% behind getting that station up. We have a contractual agreement with the port, and they’re already about to give another service to another municipality. They could just as well contract another municipality to do that,” said Councilman Boucher.
