To meet the growing needs of the Otto community and southern Macon County, the Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department held a groundbreaking on Feb. 24 for its future 15,000-square-foot fire station, slated to be completed in 2026.
“It’s not for us. It’s going to be for the younger generations that are out here, because they’re the ones that are going to live here for 60 years down the road,” Otto Fire Chief Kevin Fountain said. “The new facility will ensure the firefighters have the tools and resources needed to respond rapidly to emergencies and send the emergency equipment to preparedness and rapid response in any emergency.”
Fountain said this day has been 13 years in the making. Not only was there a symbolic groundbreaking, but hours earlier, Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue signed the paperwork to finance $2.8 million of the $3.1 million building, with the rest being used as a deposit.
The new fire station will sit on a combined 9.15 acres over five separate parcels at 8249 Georgia Road, bought by Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue Inc. in 2013 for $59,000. The new station, to be built by Wright Construction from Sylva, is below Old School Knife Works (the former Otto Elementary School).
“The construction people are saying eight to 12 months. I was kind of hoping they’d be through by next week,” Fountain joked. Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue Board Chair and Lieutenant Cindy Watts said the board anticipates full completion within 18 months.
Once completed, the new firehouse will give Otto five double bays for engines and trucks.
Once work on the new firehouse is done, the old building will be used for storage, possibly EMS or other trucks, Fountain said, noting Macon County hasn’t decided if their EMS unit will be in the new building or stay in the old building.
The new station will give departing engines and trucks a clear line of sight in both directions turning onto Georgia Road. Fountain said that in emergencies, there have been several near accidents when units turn off Firehouse Road, which is somewhat obstructed from the view of traffic going southbound around the curve on Georgia Road.
Fountain said hopefully this will cut down response times and will make the department accessible to the people, as the open area along Georgia Road will be more visible to passing traffic.
The department is taking donations through its Facebook page Otto Fire and Rescue and for its brick marker project, which will be installed at the new firehouse. Anyone can buy a four-by-eight-inch brick to honor or memorialize someone, with custom engraving for $25. An eight-by-eight brick is $50. That fundraiser is live at donate.brickmarkers.com/otto with more information.
Watts said they are also looking for new volunteers and anyone interested can reach out through the Facebook page.
The current firehouse and community center is housed in an 8,176-square-foot, building sitting on 1.52 acres, owned by the Otto Community Organization, according to Macon GIS. The old part of the current firehouse was built in 1980 and the newer part in 2003.
With an estimated population of 6,400, Fountain said the needs of the aging community have grown in the last 35 years.
“When I came along in the late 80s, early 90s, we were running anywhere from 20 to 30 calls per year,” Fountain said. “Last year, we topped out at 560…. Training hours last year, 3,494 for just us at Otto.”
Fountain talked about how the property everyone was standing on and across the highway used to be the old town of Otto where the rubber mill, blacksmith shop, telegraph and more used to be located.
Founded in 1978, Otto Volunteer Fire and Rescue started by holding meetings in the parking lot of Tyler’s Warehouse before moving into the current station in 1980.
“That building was a great upgrade to that, and then this building’s going to be a nice upgrade to that,” Fountain said.