Shelby County Recycles Old Fire House

(Shelby County, TN) Good news for thousands of homeowners in Northeast Shelby County.

They will be getting better fire protection when a fire station reopens tomorrow on Egypt Central Road.

Over the last several months, the fire department has made lots of changes to the fire house that closed back in 1988.

The renovation budget is a fraction of what it would cost to build one from the ground up.

“When you are looking at the construction of a new fire station being over one million dollars,” said Brent Perkins with the Shelby County Fire Department.

The Egypt Central station is being reopened to serve a growing population of about 3,800 residents in Northeast Shelby County.

It means homes once up to eight miles away from the nearest fire station, are now as close as a mile or two.

“We can be on the scene within minutes now, provided we get an early 911 call. We can do an awful lot in a short period of time,” said Perkins.

Back in May we told you some homeowners were upset their home insurance had doubled due to the distance of the closest fire station.

Fire officials say that should change once the fire station is up and running.