February 21, 2003

PRESS RELEASE
To: Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Assistant to the Fire Chief
Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

New Central Fire Station Ground Breaking Slated for
Next Week

The Shreveport Fire Department has announced that ground breaking for new Central Fire Station is slated for next Tuesday, February 25. The four and a half million-dollar project, some seven years in the making, will house some 20 firefighters and the half-dozen pieces of equipment currently located at the old complex, 801 Crockett Street. The new state-of-the-art two-story fire station will encompass just under 26,000 square feet - 12,400 are upstair living quarters and on-duty operations’ offices. The administrative offices will be housed in a separate but adjacent 6,000 square foot single-story wing. Plans for the ceremony are as follows:

What:New Central Fire Station Ground Breaking
When:Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Time:10:00 a.m.
Where:263 North Common Street. North on Common Street from downtown, next to Cross Bayou and in front of SWEPCO’s Arsenal Hill power plant

In Attendance and scheduled to speak will be Mayor Keith Hightower, Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, a representative from the architectural firm of Alliance, Inc., and a representative from general contractor, Brown Builders. Media packets with detailed specifications of the buildings and drawings will be handed out at the ground breaking ceremony. The public is invited to attend. ###