WAPT-TV Jackson
New fire station being built on Air National Guard base
The facility aims to help improve response times to base emergencies.
By Richard Bourne
JACKSON, Miss. — A local Mississippi National Guard base is receiving a new facility to help with fighting fires and other emergencies.
The Mississippi Air National Guard's 172nd Airlift Wing held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the construction of a new state-of-the-art fire station at Allen C. Thompson Field.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Rep. Michael Guest were among those in attendance.
The new facility will be 19,400 square feet and support the Jackson-Evers International Airport.
The main station will be adjacent to the flight line, greatly improving response times to on-base emergencies. The location of the main station will provide drill-status firefighters with a training facility on base, saving hundreds of man-hours per year.
The project took 12 years to design and get funding through support from state lawmakers.
The new fire station is expected to take up to a year-and-a-half to complete.