Fairhope's newest fire station, the Timothy M. Lennicx Station No. 4, located on Parker Road behind Publix on U.S. 98 north of the city, has its official grand opening and dedication from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, December 5.
Fire Chief Chris Ellis says this station has been a long time coming. "We started talking about this years ago; it had numerous delays getting off the ground and then a number of construction delays as it was being built, but it is finally finished and ready to open." The new station is named for Tim Lennicx, a much admired Fairhope Police officer and longtime volunteer fire fighter who died from cancer in 2009 at the age of 40.
To build the new station, the Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department received $86,000 from the City of Fairhope and took out a $600,000 construction loan for the two-bay building. Ellis said the loan would be repaid with funds the department receives from Baldwin County ad valorem tax proceeds that are earmarked for volunteer departments.
The new facility will greatly reduce the firefighters response time in the northern part of the city, Ellis said. "There is a fair amount of growth in that area so this service is needed. Also, the new station will help us keep the good ISO 4 rating for insurance rates that we have maintained for more than 30 years. There are a lot of different factors that go into that, including training and equipment, but the addition of the new station definitely helps us maintain the good rating we have."
Ellis said he expects that one fire engine and a brush-fire truck will be housed at the new station. None of the stations house full-time firefighter staff.
The new station is the city's fourth. Others are the Leo Keller Station No. 1, on Ingleside Drive behind Thomas Hospital; the Roy White Station No. 2 on Thompson Hall Road (also the site of the department's classroom and training facility); and the Les Bung Station No. 3 at the Fairhope airport on Highway 32.
The Fairhope Volunteer Fire Department currently has 55 members. "We are always looking for new volunteers, and men and women age 18 and over are welcomed," Ellis said. "No previous experience or training is necessary. All of our firefighters get a minimum of 72 hours of training every year and over three-quarters of our members are professionally certified at the Firefighter 1 or 2 levels and hold numerous other professional firefighter certifications." Anyone interested in becoming a member of the department can call Ellis at 233-5181 or can pick up an application at the fire station on Ingleside Drive.
The grand opening and dedication of the new station on Parker Road on December 5 is open to the public. For questions or additional information, call 251-990-0218.
