MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. (WHNT) — Muscle Shoals will soon have a new Fire Station 4 as construction begins on the new building on Old Highway 20 and Gargis Lane.

The new station is part of a plan to help enhance emergency services. Muscle Shoals Fire Department (MSFD) says it receives around 2,000 calls a year they receive, and firefighters say station 4 will see an estimated three to four hundred of those calls.

Located in the southeast area of the city just off Old Highway 20 the new fire station is expected to have two bays, living quarters for firefighters, a kitchen and a storm shelter. The last time a fire station was built for the department was 21 years ago now the chief says they’ve been working toward this a long time

“We’ve been working on the manpower and the equipment for about three years now so it just wouldn’t impact all at one time, so we’ve got most of the personnel already hired.” Muscle Shoals Fire Chief Shawn Malone said. “We’d still like a few before we open the station. We’ve promoted all our lieutenants for that station already so we could get those people trained we’ve promoted our drivers already so we can get those trained and ready to go so when the doors open everybody’s just ready to go to work.”

Currently, the fire department has had to service this area from other stations they say the biggest benefit of this new station is that it cuts down on response times and it doesn’t leave other areas vulnerable.

The construction cost of fire station four will be a little over three million dollars. The fire chief tells News 19 this new station will bring the city’s fire department up to 40 employees.