Feb. 26, 2002 – The firefighters and equipment that provide first response for eastern St. Thomas are making a temporary move to another location while major renovations are made to the fire station across from Four Winds Plaza and Tillett Gardens.
The Echo Company crew and fire trucks will operate out of Foster Plaza, near Holy Family Catholic Church, while work at the George Scott Firehouse is under way. V.I. Fire Service spokesman Donald Charles said the move should take place in a few days.
Repairs to the facility are badly needed, Charles said. Every time it rains, he said, the firehouse floods, and "we have a serious drainage problem." So, the first part of the $130,000 project will be flood control.
In the second phase of the renovation, contractors will create work space for paramedics who will be permanently stationed at the Tutu fire station. The construction is expected to take six months.
Charles said Foster Plaza was chosen as the fire station's temporary home in order to keep the emergency crews in the same general area, with no change in response time to the community they serve. "Basically, the Foster location is a strategic location," he said. The fire trucks will be parked in the shopping center parking lot until the station renovation work is done.
The fire station telephone number, 775-0205, will remain in service.
Charles said the work at the Tutu station is part of the overall improvements being made to the territory's fire stations.
Repairs begun earlier at the Fort Christian firehouse are 95 percent complete, he said. That work has involved the installation of a new kitchen, shower and decontamination area, and two new offices, along with a major upgrading of the sleeping quarters.
Because the Hotel Company based there is situated in Fort Christian, a designated historic landmark, he said, it was necessary to obtain special permits to make repairs to the leaky roof that has plagued firefighters in the downtown Charlotte Amalie station for years.
