By Sonia Smith
The Advocate
SCOTLANDVILLE, La. — When Scotlandville Fire Station No. 16 was built 54 years ago, the red brick building housed the Fire Department in the front and a community center in the back, Fire Department spokesman Howard Ward said Wednesday.
The Fire Department expanded into the community center's space when it closed down, but no major remodeling was ever done, Ward said.
At 10 a.m. today, a groundbreaking ceremony on a new, more spacious fire house is scheduled.
The new station, planned at 1155 Rosenwald Road and designed by Crump Wilson Architects, will have 7,800 square feet of space and bays for two fire trucks, Fire Department spokesman Robert Combs said.
At a cost of $1.5 million, the new station will replace the 3,000-square-feet one-truck station across the street, built in 1954 for the Scotlandville Fire Department.
The Baton Rouge Fire Department took over the old station in 1974, when the Scotlandville area was annexed into the city, Ward said.
The new building will boast a weight room, an emergency generator and a door connecting the sleeping area and the truck bay for speed in an emergency, said Fire Department Special Services employee George Patterson, who has been acting as a liaison between the Fire Department and the contractors and architects.
Fifteen firefighters staff the current station on three shifts, Ward said.
The new dormitory will have space for 10 beds, an improvement on the cramped quarters of the old station, Ward said.
Station No. 16 is the first of five stations built in the 1950s or earlier that the Fire Department has tapped for replacement, Ward said.
The other stations are Station No. 1 at 1801 Laurel St.; Station No. 2 at 2182 Osage St.; Station No. 6 at 3820 Gus Young Ave.; and Station No. 7 at 112 North Foster Drive.
"Time has not been very gracious to our fire stations," he said. "We hope to increase the square footage, update the living accommodations and bring them into the 2000s."
Replacing No. 16 was a priority because of its age and general condition, Combs said.
The new station is slated to be completed this fall, Ward said.
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