City Preparing for Voter-Approved Fire Station No. 8 Rebuild in North Arlington
Demolition is underway on the aging Fire Station No. 8 to make way for a more modern, more efficient fire station approved by Arlington voters in the 2018 Bond Program.
A two-story, 10,000-square-foot facility will replace the Fire Department’s existing 7,100-square-foot station, which originally opened at 2020 Madison Drive in 1978 and went through a remodel in 2005. The station has three different shifts, who each spend 24 hours serving a 4.5 square-mile response district that includes neighborhoods, the Arlington Commons area, Champions Park, Anthem (formerly the Lincoln Square shopping center) and AT&T Stadium.
In addition to the emergency medical and fire suppression mission, fire station No. 8 houses the Arlington Fire Department’s technical rescue team. The team has a specialized vehicle that carries technical rescue equipment. They specialize in technical rescues, which include high angle rope rescue, trench rescue and building collapse. They also focus on heavy duty vehicle and machinery extrications.
Demolition is expected to take about two months to complete and construction for the new station will take about 12 months. The future $13.9 million facility, expected to open in November 2025, will include three to four drive-through apparatus bays, dorm rooms for firefighters, a day room and kitchen. The new fire station will also incorporate cancer awareness best practices, including extractors to wash the firefighters bunker gear, a system to remove exhaust fumes. In addition, it will have a cascade system for filling breathing air cylinders.
Fire Department response times are not expected to be affected during construction of the new station. Fire Station No. 8 crews are temporarily working from nearby fire stations No. 5, 11, 17.
Want to learn more about the capital projects approved by Arlington voters in the City’s bond elections? Check out the Bond Tracker webpage for maps, project timelines, articles, and more.
Champion Great Neighborhoods, City Council District 1, Bond Program
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