HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — People in Houston County should see faster fire and EMS response times when the county opens its new Fire and Emergency Management Complex off Lake Joy Road this Saturday.
Houston County Fire Chief and EMA Director Chris Stoner says the new $2.5 million complex is a result of the county's growth.
"Over the years, our call volume has dramatically increased," says Stoner.
The complex will house three fire trucks, one Houston Healthcare ambulance, all of the administrative offices and a new emergency operations center.
The county relies heavily on volunteer firefighters, which Stoner says saves Houston County about half a million dollars per year, but this new station will have two paid firefighters 24/7 ready to answer the call.
"Back when our fire department started in the unincorporated areas of the county, it was 100 percent volunteer coverage, so none of the facilities were built with the idea of having people sleep at it," says Stoner. "It was very difficult to keep firemen there 24 hours a day."
But now, they do.
The new station has four bunk rooms, a kitchen, and a living room.
This is only the second station in the county with paid staff.
The other is out near Perdue Farms, which opened in 2016.
Stoner says their average response time during the week is between 5 and 8 minutes, but right now on the weekend, it can take longer.
"The response times, especially over the weekend periods, will be greatly enhanced."
Robert Adams has lived right off Lake Joy Road for 10 years and he says if he or his neighbors are in danger, he feels good knowing help is right down the street.
"I'm glad that it's gonna be close to us."
Behind the fire station, is an all new emergency management hub.
Stoner says right now when there is a disaster, the representatives from all the municipalities are either squeezed into the 911 center on Carl Vinson Parkway or constantly talking on the phone.
Now, they'll have everyone in one spot with the technology to handle it.
"That'll greatly enhance that response to the entire county by having all of the decision-makers in one place versus having phone calls or conference calls back and forth to try and get things accomplished."
Stoner says this complex is just the beginning.
"As we're growing, we're having to build new facilities to accommodate that growth and this is just the first phase of that expansion that we're looking into."
This complex sits on just five of the 25 total acres the county purchased and Stoner says that extra space will be put to use pretty soon.
The complex is named after Jimmy Williams, Jr. who died in February 2019 from pancreatic cancer.
He was Houston County's fire chief for 25 years.