By Jonathan Bym
Staff Writer
While National First Responder Day is not a widely recognized day of celebration, the Eagle Springs Fire Department broke ground on a large gift in the shadow of its existing fire station Monday, Oct. 28.
Through state and local funds, the volunteer fire department on N.C. 211 unveiled its $2.1 million expansion, planned to be done in a year, according to Chief Mike St. Onge.
“This is a growing area, and we service 65 square miles in this general area,” St. Onge said. “It’s a big, big step up from what we’ve got.”
The process to nearly double the footprint of the station started before 2020, St. Onge said, as part of long talks with former state Rep. Jamie Boles about wanting to provide better support for the state Department of Public Safety training facility in Samarcand.
At the Samarcand training facility, up to 150 trainees stay overnight for each training session. Boles added that the state has invested $40 million in the site, including $10 million in the Wildlife Resources Commission training facility, a three-level structure on the property.
The expansion of the Eagle Springs department was needed to provide better coverage of the training facility. To do so, Boles was able to secure $300,000 for the fire department’s expansion, only for the COVID-19 pandemic to raise the price of materials and services for construction. State Sen. Tom McInnis has secured another $1 million in state appropriations since then, and the county chipped in local funds for the rest.
The expansion will provide space for the department to house firefighters for 24-hour shifts, with hopes of adding full-time opportunities for the department of 45 firefighters.
“We have seen over the years a fall in volunteer help with the fire department. What this will allow would be to house firefighters 24 hours a day, which improves our response time,” St. Onge said. “Whether it be medical calls or fire calls, we’re right here 24 hours a day in the community. What we’re basically trying to do is improve our services to the community, and that’s where this project is going to become instrumental.”
The expansion will allow for sleeping quarters, meeting rooms, communications room for disaster situations, exercise room, full-size bathrooms and office space. It can also allow for the fire station to serve as a community space the unincorporated community lacks, St. Onge said.
A quick response vehicle that is transport capable for the Moore County Emergency Services will also be housed there with a full-time EMS staff.
“We said, ‘We need an EMS truck to respond to that area because right now the closest EMS truck we have is coming from Seven Lakes or Robbins,’” St. Onge said. “To be able to do that, we have to have facilities where we can house EMS staff.”
The addition of another EMS truck joins others in Westmoore, on J. Dowdy Road between Robbins and Carthage, Glendon and Woodlake. EMS presence is also in fire stations at Cypress Pointe on Youngs Road, Aberdeen, both Southern Pines Stations and Westmoore, according to Moore County Public Safety Director Bryan Phillips.
D.R. Reynolds Construction out of Star is the contractor for the project.
“That keeps our money in our community. It doesn’t go far away like to California or Charlotte or Raleigh,” McInnis said. “That’s a big meaning to us in the General Assembly.”
St. Onge said that construction will begin as soon as 30 days from now.
Contact Jonathan Bym at (910) 693-2470 or jonathan@thepilot.com.
