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Is The New Georgetown Fire Station Worth the Money?


A viewer call into KEYE TV alerted us to an unusual construction project in Williamson County.

The Georgetown fire department is building a new fire station. While there’s nothing unusual about that, the questions are about where it's being built -- it's going in next door to the current fire station.

The city bought two homes that were directly in front of the old fire station to build the $1.6 million facility. A viewer we spoke with wants to know why the city didn’t just renovate the old station and save the money.

We went straight to Georgetown Mayor George Garver to find out why they’re spending the money. Mayor Garver says, “The old station was inadequate to the needs of a growing city, it housed only two of the engines, sleeping quarters for staff was inadequate, there was minimum office space.” Garver also added that renovating the old fire station would be a waste of money. "It costs more money to renovate it than it does to build a new one,” he says.

The new fire station exit also helps firefighters respond faster since it faces a main street and they no longer have to exit through a residential area. Once the new facility is complete, firefighters will be able to respond to an incident within four and a half minutes.

We also asked residents in the neighborhood what they thought of the new fire station. Harry Sharpe has lived in Georgetown more than seventy years and says it’s all part of growth and he says Georgetown is a growing town. “It’s fine with me and I’m glad it’s here,” he says.

If you have a story you want us to check out, or if you see breaking news happening, tell us about it. Search for KEYE TV on Facebook and Twitter or email us at news@keyetv.com or you can also give our news desk a call at 1-800-5-news-42.

By Lydia Pantazes