CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Work began this week on a Horry County Fire Station originally scheduled to begin last year.
The new station will replace the old Horry County Fire Rescue Station 23 on Victory Lane.
The project was delayed after bids for the project came in $400,000 higher than what the county council set aside. County Council budgeted $1.2 million, but over the course of the planning, the project developed a $1.6 million dollar price tag.
Council members say they were forced to amend plans for other fire stations slated to be built to make up for the price increase.
“We had to go back and do some budget amending, budget changing to get the money under the budget for this,” Councilman Johhny Vaught said. “We’re doing Aynor Fire Station a little bit differently than what we planned to do. We’re also going to be moving our hazmat people into this.”
Vaught says council decided on the changes last year and crews just began putting heavy machinery in place this week.
“We’re getting the site work done today, we’ve finally got all the permits, the permitting work done and everything,” Vaught said. “We’re going to start preparing the site for pouring the pad and putting all the utilities in and getting this thing going.”
Vaught claims the new station will be easier to get in and out of than the previous location, reducing response times and saving homeowners money on their insurance.
“We won’t have all that university and tech traffic that we’d have to deal with,” Vaught said.
Once the station is complete, around 100 homeowners will be within a five mile driving radius of a fire station. Officials confirm fire insurance rates should go down hundreds of dollars a year thanks to the new ISO ratings which will go into effect as soon as the new station opens.
Council members say Station 23 should be open and operational in the next eight to nine months, barring any project delays.
