Orange County Emergency Services and the Orange County Rural Fire Department will open a new Fire and EMS station in Waterstone on Sunday, June 4, and will hold a public celebration and tour from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The new $7.4 million facility can house up to 12 fire personnel and up to six EMS personnel, and will also house one fire engine, one medical responder vehicle and one advanced life support ambulance.
“This station was designed with direct input of a joint team of fire and EMS response personnel,” Orange County Emergency Services Director Kirby Saunders said in a release from the Town of Hillsborough. “Many of the incorporated features and comforts were designed to optimize the health and well-being of our most valuable resource, our people.”
The facility is also equipped with LED lighting and water-saving supplies, as well as training props. It meets design standards for critical facilities, such as an emergency generator in case of a power outage. The EMS portion of the building contains a 24/7 publicly accessible lobby, restroom and automatic external defibrillator. Spaces for personnel include an exercise room and an outdoor patio with a gas grill.
In addition, the facility includes a small memorial for firefighter Jeff Holden, who died in the line of duty in 2018. Fire Chief Jeff Cabe said the training props were Holden’s idea.
“His ideas and vision resulted in the training props,” Cabe said. “Prior to his passing, Jeff was our training and special operations chief and managed all of our fire and EMS training.”
The new station is located at 350 College Park Road in Hillsborough. For more information, click here.
Featured image via Google Maps
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