The Troy Fire Department and officials with the City of Troy officially opened the city’s third fire station on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Fire Chief Michael Stephens said the station has actually been operating since about 6 a.m. on Thursday and helped respond to calls over the weekend during the severe weather threat.

Stephens said the station will help cut response times and lower insurance rates in the city. “It could cut response times by up to 10 minutes in some areas, being on the other side of (U.S. Highway 231),” Stephens said. “It will also help to lower insurance rates.”

 

What Stephens was talking about is the possibility that the third station will lower the fire department’s ISO (Insurance Services Office) classification from a Class 3 to a Class 2. ISO ratings are one of the factors that companies offering fire insurance take into account when setting premiums.

The new fire station also brings with it six new firefighters, who have been going through training and schooling over the past four months. That brings the total number of employees for the fire department up to 39, which will also help the department as it responds to fires both in the city and county.

Mayor Jason Reeves said the new fire station will greatly improve the service that the fire department is able to provide for Troy citizens and the surrounding community.

“When you dial 911, you know the cavalry’s coming,” Reeves said. “Having this station on the south side of (U.S.) 231 will really help in responding faster.”

One of the biggest improvements that the new fire station holds, Stephens said, is the pull-through bay.

“Some of the hardest and most dangerous things for the guys operating that truck is backing that truck out,” Stephens said. “Every time it backs out, it has to have spotters, and it’s hard to do that on George Wallace Drive. It’s just so much safer for men for the truck to be able to pull through the station.”

The new fire station is located at 360 Elba Highway directly behind the Troy Board of Education building.

The City of Troy purchased the building from the school board to inject money into the local school system, to save money for the city and because of it’s ideal location and ability to house a pull-through bay, Reeves said.