Tybee Island approves $14 million relocation and upgrade for fire station

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - Over on Tybee Island, some much needed changes coming to their fire department.

City council voted on Monday that the new location would move them from their current station, to one that is set off Butler, the town’s main road.

“We’ve gone through a lot of iterations of what this is gonna look like over several councils,” said Tybee Island Mayor Brian West.

This new location makes getting firefighters where they need to be easier.

“We’ll be able to get in and out just much faster,” said Justin McMillan, Tybee Island Fire Chief. “It’s not the best spot having it back here. We’re pretty much right in the middle of a residential neighborhood.”

The total production will cost the city roughly $14 million for the land and construction.

“People are going to round that curb headed down to the beach and it’s gonna be the first thing that they see that represents Tybee Island, and we’re real proud of that,” said McMillan. “It’s gonna be a much bigger facility, it’s gonna be state of the art and it’s gonna be up-to-date.”

One of the biggest upgrades to the interior is a dedicated emergency operation center. This and other quality of life additions will help make the department run smoother.

“This facility, it was constructed for volunteers and it wasn’t meant for people to come here and sleep,” mayor West said. “It was meant for people to come and meet and get ready to go to work.”

All these changes and upgrades means that there could be potential changes to the staffing as well.

“You know if we wanna hire more firefighters we want to get a bigger department, this facility will accommodate that,” said McMillan. “So we’re building for the future.”

Both the mayor and the chief are excited about this new relocation, and say that these changes are going to significantly impact their department in a positive way.

The mayor says the old station will become a part of Memorial Park, and that they’re looking at new plans for the park which could include a community center, a new YMCA facility, and a new facility for Tybee Island’s Maritime Academy.