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New fire station under construction in Harrisonburg

Dozens of Harrisonburg firefighters watch the groundbreaking ceremony for the new fire station on Mount Clinton Pike.
Randi B. Hagi
Dozens of Harrisonburg firefighters watch the groundbreaking ceremony for the new fire station on Mount Clinton Pike.

Harrisonburg broke ground on a new fire station Tuesday morning. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

First responders and city leaders gathered in a field on Mount Clinton Pike to break ground on the fifth fire station in town. Retired Fire Chief Larry Shifflett told WMRA there's been a need for this station since the area northwest of downtown joined the city as part of a 1983 annexation.

LARRY SHIFFLETT: Every other area of the city has a response time that is less than the response time to the Park View area. … People don't realize how critical seconds and minutes are when you have a fire.

Larry Shifflett served the department for 47 years, retiring in 2016 after more than three decades as the chief.
Randi B. Hagi
Larry Shifflett served the department for 47 years, retiring in 2016 after more than three decades as the chief.

Their goal is to cut response times in this area from six minutes to four. Chief Matthew Tobia said they partnered with mathematicians at James Madison University to identify the best location to serve that goal. The new station will also relieve pressure on the next closest one, on Rock Street.

MATTHEW TOBIA: When a person's heart stops beating, we have about four minutes to be able to initiate effective CPR. … We need to be there fast. The other thing that happens is that fires burn so intensely today. … Everything is a synthetic fiber. Synthetic fibers are resilient, but they contain a tremendous amount of unburned energy.

Chief Matthew Tobia said that the department also used federal data to situate the new station where it would best serve impoverished communities and those more vulnerable to disasters.
Randi B. Hagi
Chief Matthew Tobia said that the department also used federal data to situate the new station where it would best serve impoverished communities and those more vulnerable to disasters.

Captain Joe Weaver is overseeing the project for the fire department. They hope to open the station in under a year – by next June.

JOE WEAVER: When I started 24 years ago, Station 5 was a dream of Chief Shifflett's, who hired me, so to see him retire and now to see this come true, you know, it's very bittersweet.

The project will cost more than $8 million, including the land purchase, construction costs, and a new fire engine. Five million of that was allocated from American Rescue Plan Act funds. Ongoing expenses will include salaries for 15 fire personnel.

A rendering of what Fire Station 5 may look like by this time next year.
City of Harrisonburg
A rendering of what Fire Station 5 may look like by this time next year.

Full disclosure – WMRA's operating license is held by JMU's board of visitors, and JMU underwrites programming on WMRA.

Randi B. Hagi first joined the WMRA team in 2019 as a freelance reporter. Her work has been featured on NPR and other NPR member stations; in The Harrisonburg Citizen, where she previously served as the assistant editor;The Mennonite; Mennonite World Review; and Eastern Mennonite University's Crossroads magazine.