OXFORD, Miss. (WTVA) -- Oxford's Fire Station One has operated on North Lamar Boulevard since the early 1970s.
But the fire station will soon move to McElroy Drive near the airport to meet the needs of commercial and residential growth.
"As Oxford has grown, we've kind of become in the center of the city," said Cary Sallis, Oxford's fire chief. "So we're getting our stations back on the outside edges. It allows us to run in to the inner parts of the city a lot easier and mitigate and cover some areas that Oxford has really grown in."
The new fire station will come with modern amenities and more space.
"It's going to be a lot easier. Instead of having trucks back into the station, they will be able to drive through the station and park," added Sallis. "They won't have to do any backing. It's just going to be a whole new bigger, wider area for us to grow."
Besides a new fire station, a new emergency operations center will be built behind it.
"We'll have common driveways and parking areas," said Jimmy Allgood, the city's emergency management director. "It will be two separate facilities, but it will make it like an emergency services complex over in this area."
Having the two agencies in the same location is expected to better serve the city in the event of a disaster.
"When you get into disaster or emergency operations, it makes the actual operation run smoother," added Allgood. "....that allows us to train more with each other and communicate more with each."
Plans call for Fire Station One to be at its new location sometime in the late spring of next year.
Funding for the new $1 million emergency operations center is coming from a $750,000 federal grant and $250,000 from the city.
