It’s been a year since Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire & Rescue faced the challenge of building, staffing, and equipping a new fire department in 45 days.

Now, the agency is in the midst of building a permanent station off Burris Road next to a temporary structure erected last year in a three-day construction marathon.

“It was very stressful, and I don’t want to ever do it again,” said Keith Bost, chief of Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire & Rescue.

The situation was the result of the Denver Fire Department informing Catawba County officials it would discontinue service to three areas of the county on June 30, 2008. At the time, Denver Fire Chief Jay Flynn told The O-N-E the decision was due to inadequate funding when the county would not raise the fire tax in its district to 7-cents as it requested in February 2008. The Denver Fire Department later requested the fire tax be raised to 8.92 cents in May 2008, which was also denied.

So on July 1, 2008, Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire & Rescue assumed service to 6.69 square miles of Catawba County and its 2,300 residents. Bost said one firefighter staffs the temporary station 24 hours a day, while staying in a FEMA camper.

He said the service the agency has been able to provide from the station has been good. Bost said they run an average of 100 calls a year in the district with an average response time of about four or five minutes. The agencies average response time, including all four of its stations is 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

He said the temporary station will be removed after the permanent station is complete in about three months. The 5,000-square-foot building will feature a kitchen, living room, three separate bedrooms, two offices, a laundry room and a maintenance area.

Construction began three weeks ago on the $650,000 building and is moving along quickly, Bost said. He said the steel support beams are already installed. When it’s finished, the building will be encased in brick on three sides, and it will be more than three times the size of the present $1,400 temporary station.

Last time, Bost said many of the Sherrills Ford/Terrell firefighters worked through the night to get a station up by the July 1, 2008, deadline. This time, Crescent Construction, based out of Concord is doing the work and Talley & Smith Architects completed the building design.

The agency planned the new facility with the future in mind.

“We made it big enough to grow,” Bost said.

The population and call volume in the district only requires one firefighter for the time being. However, he said the station is big enough to staff a full engine company of five people there at all times if necessary. Bost said five beds can fit in each of the three bedrooms when that time comes, to accommodate three fully-staffed shifts.

“That station will last the area for a long time,” he said.

The temporary fire department is up for bid, with a minimum bid of $10,000, said Bost. Anyone interested in bidding should contact Sherrills Ford/Terrell Fire & Rescue at (828) 478-2131.