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COLUMBIA – People surrounded the firetruck on all sides and grabbed a hold of any nook in the truck's exterior, following Fire Chief William Markgraf's instructions to push the first truck into the apparatus bay. With a little help from the humming diesel engine, the crowd lightly pushed the truck through the large bay door.
Many residents of the Green Meadows area and Columbia Fire Department firefighters attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the city's new station No. 7. The seating was limited, and the crowd was larger than anticipated. Most of the crowd stood against the newly constructed wall of the apparatus bay.
- A Chihuahua named J.J. listens to speeches with owners Nancy Hadfield and Rich Hadfield, right, at the opening of Columbia's Fire Station No. 7 on Sunday. Rich Hadfield joked that he thought about adding black and white spots to J.J. before they arrived at the celebration.
- Mayor Darwin Hindman makes opening remarks to the crowd at the grand opening of Columbia's Fire Station No. 7 on Sunday.
“This is the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen at an opening,” Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser said.
The crowd was set for a show. The Happy Days Band, featuring Markgraf on saxophone, provided a soundtrack for the event. Markgraf, Mayor Darwin Hindman and Nauser all spoke. Even Miss Columbia, Amanda Williams, wearing a sash proclaiming her title and a shining tiara, made an appearance.
“They set a good example,” Kevin Samuel, 31, said of the Fire Department. “And our kids love the firetrucks.”
The overwhelming support at the opening differed from the original feelings of the people who live in the Green Meadows area. The station took five years to be zoned and built. During that time, residents voiced their concerns about the noise and flashing lights of firetrucks creating restless nights around the station.
But Columbia fire officials were persistent in the need for a new station in a better location. Markgraf said that the location at 400 Green Meadows, as opposed to the station at Nifong and Providence, lets firetrucks drive in any direction necessary without any hindrance.
“We can go south, we can go east, north or west without a question or problem,” Markgraf said.
To ease the minds of residents around Green Meadows, the city of Columbia purchased another piece of land north of the fire station in order to retain distance between the station and houses. There are no plans to construct any other buildings on the site; instead landscapers will start putting in grass and trees to make the area a green space for the entire community.
“We originally only bought two thirds of the property,” Battalion Chief Steven Sapp said. “(Columbia) spent another $110,000 on the other part for green space.”
The new station features several upgrades over its previous building, which was falling apart, according to Markgraf and Nauser. These improvements include a drive-through apparatus bay and an increase in size and utility of the living quarters for firemen, such as a better kitchen.
The former station only had one door, which required firefighters to back into the building. Sapp said backing into the station is one of the most dangerous maneuvers that can be attempted with a firetruck. The old station also didn’t accommodate the increase in size of fire equipment over the years.
The station at Green Meadows is also Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified. To gain this certification, the fire station was built with recycled materials and has five geo-thermal wells that heat the station using energy existing in the earth said architect Erik Miller.
“Over a period of 10 years the system will completely pay for itself,” Miller said.
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