The new Waterstone fire building officially broke ground earlier this month. The new building will host both the Orange County Rural Fire Department and Orange County Emergency Services.

The departments will each have half of the building. The building will be 12,767 square feet and includes space for four emergency vehicles, offices, support and living space for staff of both agencies.

This will be the fourth fire station for the department and the first time a non-profit fire department has jointly built a fire station with the county and town involved.

The new fire department building was a response to growth within the town of Hillsborough, according to Mayor Jenn Weaver.

The process to build a fire station south of Hillsborough started more than 15 years ago when the department identified service improvement needs caused by development in the southern portion of the Central Orange Fire District.

The building was unanimously approved by the town board in December last year.

The building is part of the total Waterstone development was approved in 2019. The mixed use development, which provides more than 130 homes to Hillsborough led to an increased population, thus a new fire station was needed to have adequate coverage of the town.

Acquiring the site for the new building was part of the approval process for the Waterstone development.

The area of the Waterstone Development was identified as the location in the southern portion of the fire district that would bring the most homes to within the six miles or less response area.

This station will primarily cover the portions of the fire district south of Interstate 85 and provide backup to the rest of the town and fire district as well as New Hope and Orange Grove fire departments.

The station is expected to be staffed and operational by early 2023, according to the Orange Rural Fire Department.

 

Featured photo via Orange Rural Fire Department

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