Kingston residents get first look at new fire station

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Tuesday night people in the Kingston neighborhood got their first look at the plans for their new fire station. Crews plan to break ground in late February and could be complete in eight months.

To get to this point was an uphill battle for residents. The city closed Kingston Fire Station in May of 2016 and was demolished later that summer.

Homeowners protested, held sit-ins, and signed petition to get the city council to approve funding for a new fire station. It was finally approved and for residents like Hamidullah Abudr Rahmaan have been waiting on this moment for a while.

"We struggled hard the get that fire station. The fire station is very important in any community and it is vital in Kingston," said Rahmaan.

Gwendolyn Cook Webb said the fire station was a matter of life and death. Birmingham's fire chief said without it, an additional two minutes were tacked on to call times.

"Without a fire station you missing part of the life. It's where you go and have there were two fires, two terrible fires," said Webb.

Now Webb is feeling  a lot better about the situation.

"It makes me feel much safer that if I think she is about to be rebuilt in the modern technology that it's going to be placed in it," she said.

Birmingham City Councilor William Parker serves the  Kingston community and was a part of the efforts to get the fire station approved.

"I think it just illustrates the commitment from the Kingston community on the fact that we need to address public safety. We are looking forward to a new fire station, very soon," said Parker.

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