Blight demolished to pave way for new fire station

July 28, 2023 Jay Phillips

DeKalb County officials began preparation on the planned Fire Station No. 5 on July 28 by demolishing the county’s former public health headquarters on Cowan Road in Tucker.

“This is a historic day. This represents cooperation … between the city of Tucker and DeKalb. This is why we’re going to have a state-of-the-art fire station in Tucker, Georgia,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

Officials from city of Tucker and DeKalb County Board of Commissioners said the replacement was necessary – not only because of the old fire station needing repairs but also because the needs of the area have changed since the former station was built.

“The people of Tucker—the businesses and the residents—need a fire station that can accommodate more equipment and larger equipment, especially as we build bigger buildings. The risks are different, and the equipment needs to match up with that,” said Tucker Mayor Frank Auman.

Auman added that discussions about replacing Fire Station No. 5 preceded both himself and Thurmond. He said Tucker officials also want to convert the current Fire Station No. 5 into a fire rescue museum and memorial once the new station is operational.

“It’s a great vintage building with old school firepoles, and residence space upstairs, and an antique fire fighting truck in that facility right now. It will remind people of the importance of firefighters … and recruit a new generation into this noble line of work,” said Auman.

Crews began demolishing the old building on July 28. Photos by Jay Phillips

According to DeKalb County Public Safety Director Jack Lumpkin, the new fire station will be a partial copy of DeKalb’s Fire Station No. 7 — which was completed in July. Lumpkin said that he has certified public safety facilities and departments across the country for 20 years and added that Fire Station No. 7 is one of the best facilities in Georgia.

“Our goal is to have the best trained, best equipped and best fire department in the nation, and we’re going to have the best facilities to go along with that,” said DeKalb County Fire Rescue Chief Darnell Fullum.

The project will not only add a new fire station, but it will also remove blight, according to project manager David Fisher. County officials have demolished and abated 636 properties since 2017.

“What you’re witnessing today is truly the best of government,” said Lorraine Cochran Johnson, DeKalb County Board of Commissioner’s Super District 7 representative.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Presiding Officer Robert Patrick—who took a sledgehammer to the former public health building to kick things off—added that the project is a worthy investment because “the fire department saves us money.”