Construction underway for Leland Fire/Rescue’s new fire station to help reduce emergency response time

LELAND, NC (WWAY) —Leland is adding a new fire station to help keep up with its increasing population.

Leland Fire/Rescue’s third station, Fire Station 53, located on Old Lanvale Road is currently under construction.

Fire Station 53 will be staffed around the clock by eight people, and will house Battalion 5, Engine 53, and Truck 53.

The fire station will be in the town’s former municipal operations building.

Clearing and tree removal on-site, started in early July.

Leland Fire Chief Chris Langlois said Fire Station 53 will help improve the department’s response time in the rapidly growing area along highway 17.

“We are growing dramatically. A lot of people coming into the town, and our population is growing. In fact, last year, July of last year, we responded to 159 calls during the month of July 2020. This year, in 2021 we responded to a 242 calls. So, there’s a dramatic increase in the number of calls we’re responding to,” said Leland Fire/Rescue Chief Chris Langlois.

Project manager Will Lear, said there were some delays in the construction process, due to supply issues, but construction is  expected to  be complete before the end of the year around November.

“We spent a lot of time on the front end of the project on the design, because we really wanted to make sure that the design was right for our needs for the future. So, we did end up spending a little bit more time on the front end, more than we would have expected, but now that the project has actually started and the construction is under way, we’re really making good progress now,” said Will Lear, Project Manager.

The open space in the fire stations will help streamline firefighters path inside the fire station, to aid in a faster response.

“The strategic location of this fire station will allow us in the big picture, to have a four minute travel time for the majority of our response area to an emergency , from any of our 3 fire stations. So, we’re really excited about that and the additional services that we can provide to the community. In our profession, seconds save minutes and minutes save lives,” said Fire Chief Langlois.

Leland Fire Station 51 is another station to soon be under construction and relocated to Highway 74, that is currently in the design stage.