KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The city of Knoxville had two big announcements for the Burlington community in East Knoxville after its fire station had to be temporarily closed months ago due to structural issues.
Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, Knoxville Fire Department Chief Stan Sharp, and 6th District Councilmember Gwen McKenzie delivered the announcements outside Fire Station 6 on Friday.
The first announcement: All of the relocated firefighters were cleared to work out of the station again. They had been working out of Station 16 on Asheville Highway after KFD needed to temporarily relocate them in May 2023.
Sharp said Fire Station 6, which was built in 1937, was in bad shape structurally and needed a lot of TLC. There had been settling and shifting on the fire station bay floor along with new cracks discovered along the walls. Engineers needed to evaluate and inspect the building's structural condition to determine if it was safe to occupy.
Kincannon announced Friday that engineers had given them the all-clear to move back into the building, which will allow crews to quickly respond to emergencies in the Burlington area again.
The mayor had a bigger announcement, though: The city is in the process of approving a $1.15 million amendment to the budget to begin the process of building a new fire station for Burlington, which would also be the first new fire station in the city in more than 30 years.
Community representatives and people in the crowd cheered loudly after hearing the announcement. The $1.15 million will go toward the first steps of buying property and designing a state-of-the-art station for fire, rescue and medical teams. Kincannon said she anticipates the station will be completed in the next couple of years.
"This is something firefighters always look forward to and many in their career never get a chance to participate in," Chief Sharp said. "This is a great day and I can't wait to get started on this project."
Structural concerns aside, the city said Station 6 was past due for upgrades to serve both the community and to meet the needs of firefighters who spend many long hours on the job inside its walls. Its facilities were built before World War II and had become cramped as the city expanded over the decades.
"This station has done a great job of serving the East Knoxville community during that time," Chief Sharp said.
Once a new fire hall is built, the city said it hopes to find someone in the private sector who would be interested in revitalizing the historic Station 6 building, saying it has potential as a retail space, cafe or restaurant.
The city will bring the budget amendment proposal to the Knoxville City Council on Dec. 12. Kincannon said the new fire station is just one of many upgrades she wants to continue to make along the Magnolia Avenue corridor during her second term.