Charlotte Fire planning second station in north Charlotte to help lower response times

CHARLOTTE — Every year, the Queen City expands a little more.

More people means more calls to emergency services like the Charlotte Fire Department. Response times are getting longer, and some Charlotte neighborhoods are feeling the hit more than others. The Hidden Valley neighborhood in north Charlotte is feeling the effects the most.

Channel 9′s Gina Esposito uncovered the root of the problem and met with the fire department to discuss their plans to better assist the Hidden Valley neighborhood in the new year.

According to Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson, the department’s current response time is seven minutes, when it really should be six.

“We should have our first unit on the scene for most emergencies, not structure fires, in six minutes,” Johnson said.

A minute, according to Johnson, can make all the difference in growing areas like Hidden Valley.

“The blue line going up North Tryon has really increased, as you know, the number of apartment buildings and the population of businesses. And so we’ve seen an increase in call volume up there, and that’s why you see the increased response times,” Johnson said.

Hidden Valley Community Leader Janette Kinard said she relies heavily on the fire department’s response time, especially at the nonprofit where she runs ‘Champion House of Care’, which provides programs for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“They have a lot of medical issues. We may have a seizure, and as you know, if the brain is without oxygen for 5 minutes, they are in a danger zone,” Kinard said.

Owner of the McDonald’s off of Sugar Creek Road, Ron Zarek, told Episito that he understands that the department gets busy as the city continues to grow, but he has also called the department for many different medical emergencies.

“They’ve been great at responding, but we also know how busy they are in Charlotte,” Zarek said.

The Hidden Valley neighborhood is served by Station 22 on Sugar Creek Road, but it is one of the busiest stations in the department. In 2022 alone, the department responded to over 5,500 calls. In an effort to take some pressure off the station, Chief Johnson said there are plans to build a new station.

The neighborhood’s new Station 45 will be along North Tryon Street and Orr Road, with construction planned to begin soon. The department hopes that the station will be up and running by December r Road, with construction planned to begin soon. The department hopes that the station will be up and running by December 2024, and Johnson said that will cause their response times to go down.

A similar situation happened in south Charlotte, where response times were slower near Clanton Road. After the department built the new south Charlotte station, their response times improved.

“I’m very confident that we’re on the right path to address that as the city continues to grow,” Johnson said.

Chief Johnson and other firefighters aren’t the only ones excited about the prospects of a new station. Kinard is just as excited and hopeful that the department can increase its turnaround time.

(WATCH BELOW: MEDIC adjusts its response times to 911 calls based on their urgency)

MEDIC adjusts its response times to 911 calls based on their urgency

©2023 Cox Media Group