Wilson's Mills breaks ground on new fire station
Johnston County is the fastest-growing county in North Carolina, and with it comes an increased demand for emergency services.
On Tuesday afternoon, the town of Wilson’s Mills broke ground on its newest fire station at 2024 Gordon Road in Clayton. Even though the fire station will be in Clayton, it will be the third to serve Wilson’s Mills.
“There’s a lot of Johnston County citizens that this will provide services for,” Wilson’s Mills Fire Chief Bentley Powell said.
Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony celebrated the start of construction of a temporary fire station, which is set to open by July. The permanent fire station is set to open in 2024.
After the permanent station is built, crews will turn the temporary facility into a training facility.
The Gordon Road Station will be staffed differently than the town’s other two. Paid staff fill daytime shifts at town’s two other stations, but volunteers help on nights and weekends.
“Once we open this station, it will be career 24 hour a day staffed people,” Powell said of the future new station.
Fire officials said the area near Wilson's Mills is seeing an extra 300 calls per year and that trend isn’t slowing down, which is why there is a need for a new fire station.
With the approval of 3,800 homes to be built in the Wilson’s Mills community, demand for emergency services has never been higher. Across Johnston County, fire departments are struggling to fully staff their stations.
“Every fire chief in every one of those districts is battling that every day,” said Johnston County Emergency Management Director Kevin Hubbard. “Trying to match the abilities that they currently have with the growth of their fire districts, so it’s a challenge.”
Hubbard said a decline in the number of volunteer firefighters adds to that problem.
“Paid staff is where it’s going to be,” Hubbard said. “As the county continues to grow, it’s one of those challenges that we will have to face and continue to overcome.”
NOVO Nordisk donated the land on Gordon Road to Wilson’s Mills. The new station is also expected to house a Johnston County EMS ambulance.
