Jefferson City officials are hopeful that in less than a year, the city's newest fire station will be operational.
On Friday, officials broke ground for the new Fire Station No. 3 on Missouri 179, north of Industrial Drive, to replace the existing Fire Station No. 3 on Industrial Drive.
Plans are to get paperwork finished sometime this month and once that is done, the work on the station is to be done in 300 days.
"When I came here 15 years ago, a new Station 3 was being discussed, and now here we are," said interim Fire Chief Jason Turner.
The new $2.4 million station is primarily funded by money from the city's half-cent capital improvements sales tax.
The current station was built in the 1960s and was located on what was then the city's west end. The location of the new station should help reduce response times in the city's 3rd Ward.
Turner added the new station will allow the fire department to have separate quarters for female firefighters, something they don't have at other stations.
"We thank the taxpayers for allowing us to do this, and the hard work of members of Local 671 to get this done," said Mayor Eric Struemph. "We're proud that this is a project that will use local labor and local material."
The new station includes a "hardened" back-up 911 call center and additional storage and bay space for the department.
"This station will allow us to protect our firefighters in case of storms. After what we've seen in Joplin and Oklahoma when tornadoes hit, we know we have to make sure our firefighters have a safe place," said Jefferson City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus. "If we have storms like those ,we need their help because they have the training that can't be replaced."