PERRY, Ga. — As the City of Perry looks to get rid of an old building, Perry's fire department said they could use the location as a new fire station.
The city only has two fire stations. They say other Georgia cities of their size have at least four.
According to city records, this station handles calls that go out to the southern part of the city, such as the Georgia National Fairgrounds or some of the new developing neighborhoods.
Because of the station's proximity, it could take on average about 9 minutes to respond to a call. But the fire department's report to the city says an acceptable response time is 7 minutes.
It comes as the city of Perry is growing.
Throughout the southern part of town, you see new homes going up, and new development following.
"It's definitely growing and it will be good for Perry," Colleen McGhee said.
In 2013, Perry built their second fire station. The population was around 15,000. Now the community is 10,000 people larger, and the fire department sees double the amount of calls.
"We definitely, definitely do need a closer area for safety," McGhee said.
McGhee's family lives in the Preserve subdivision, a growing neighborhood on the southside that sees longer response times. Living not far herself, she says a new fire station would be a positive in the community.
"The closer you are to a fire station or a firehouse, the better your insurance will be," she said.
Plus, she says it adds a layer of safety to their homes and lives.
"We're performing at a service level that is acceptable to us and to our citizens," said Mayor Randall Walker.
He said their response times are still below national averages, but in the coming years, a new station will be discussed in their strategic plan.
"As we continue to grow, we're gonna have to stay way ahead of that growth," Walker said.
He says the city has discussed bringing a station there, but it wouldn't be on the southside.
"We feel strongly that any station we build needs to be on the west side of I-75, because that area is going to continue to grow aggressively," he said.
Walker says if the department ever needed help on the southside, there is a Houston County Fire station nearby, and they could also call on Peach County.
RELATED: Houston County law enforcement say more teens are getting access to guns through car break-ins