Raleigh residents concerned over proximity of new fire station

The city issued a press release stating that, “The site on Harden Road will better accommodate future fire services needs in this area of Raleigh.”

Residents aren’t so sure.

During a Public Works committee meeting, residents of the neighborhoods near the location where the fire station will be built argued their case that the fire station needs to be built somewhere else.

Tom West said that most of the residents had just found out about the new fire station location just before the October 7 City Council meeting, when Councilor Gaylord referred the issue to the Public Works committee in response to concerns from the nearby neighborhood.

“We have three main concerns,” West said.

The noise of the fire engines would be intrusive for the neighborhood of 170 homes that is just a block away from the new fire station location. Of particular concern was the use of sirens during the early morning hours. Residents noted that trash pickup didn’t operate during the early morning hours because of the noise those trucks would cause.

Residents are also concerned about its proximity to the Montessori school across the street.

"There is gonna be emergency traffic right around where a bunch of school kids are," said neighbor Walt Smith. "Kids walking up and down the street constantly."

The issue will be up for discussion at next week's meeting. The city's Public Works Committee will meet at 4 pm on Wednesday.

WRAL.com has a content sharing partnership with Raleigh Public Record, a nonprofit online news organization focused on coverage of Raleigh and local government.