For the last 25 years, officials with the City of Hopkinsville, its Fire Department and its EMS have been maintaining the same profile across the community — repairing and improving existing structures and facilities.
Friday morning, however, leaders broke ground on a new emergency preparedness structure for the first time in nearly three decades — where Fire Station 5 will eventually come to life on 101 Walton Way near the South Park industrial complex.
For Fire Chief and EMS Director Steve Futrell, Friday was a full-circle moment in his career.
Expected to be a state-of-the-art fire station, it will also function as a regional training center — one capable of bringing together hundreds of firefighters, EMS personnel and other related professionals under one roof for advanced skills, and the honing of expertise.
According to Futrell, the department’s annual run volume has tripled since 2000, and the city limits have expanded more than 5,000 acres. Firefighters and related responders are responsible for I-24 through Eagle Way’s Station 4, and this distance often results in longer response times for residents, businesses and travelers along Fort Campbell Boulevard.
Futrell noted the new station will “significantly reduce response times” to southern portions of the county, thus ensuring improved protections.
Mayor J.R. Knight said the Hopkinsville City Council’s persistence, commitment and forethought — along with conducted studies from fire officials — helped bring the prudent project into focus.
Fire/EMS Chaplain Nathan Miller connected the large, gathered crowd to scripture: Deuteronomy 31:6 and Ecclesiastes 4:12.
An existing structure on the property will be a part of the new construction, and blueprints of the layout are available inside.
