By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

JEMISON – Currently the only fire department in the city of Jemison is on the west side of town on the opposite side of the railroad track, but that will all be changing soon.

A new fire department is on the way to the city, which will be located on Chilton County 42 on the east side of Jemison. The city just recently finalized a floor plan with the contractor who will be working on the building, and they hope to break ground on the project early next spring.

“This is very exciting for us,” Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed said. “It will be very nice for the safety of our citizens.”

The new station won’t serve as just a fire department for the city, but it will also give Jemison another public safety office to house police officers.

“This will be a tremendous help when it comes to keeping policemen close to the interstate and on the opposite side of our city,” Reed said. “It will help us be covered on both the west and east side of (U.S.) 31.”

Reed also bragged about the city’s transport system, which is the first and only transport system in the county available 24-hours a day.

This new station will help the city with ISO ratings and give them a broader area of coverage.

“Right now the railroad track divides a lot of the city from the fire station,” Fire Chief J.A. Dennis said. “This will give us a station on both sides of the train track, which is pertinent to the safety of our citizens.”

Dennis said right now they are too far away from everybody.

“We’ve previously had to partner with volunteer firefighters, which has worked out pretty well for us, but having a completely separate staff available to our residents will help so much more,” he said.

The new department will be fully staffed and operated 24 hours a day.

Dennis said it won’t only help the city from a safety aspect, but will help draw new people and businesses to the city knowing they will be safe.