By Eileen Drennen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a $4.7 million construction contract Tuesday to expand fire protection and response services in northeast Gwinnett.

That's good news for the folks around Hamilton Mill and Chateau Elan.

In the past, residents of the top corners of Gwinnett have often been closer to fire stations in neighboring counties.

"We identified that there was a need to increase fire protection and services to that part of the community --- and now we are able," said Tommy Rutledge, spokesman for Gwinnett's Fire and Emergency Services. "It's an exciting time in the history of our department." And we certainly could not have made these things possible without the support of our citizens and the SPLOST tax [special purpose local option sales tax]."

Groundbreaking for the two new stations will happen in the coming weeks, Rutledge said, and they will be up and running within a year. Both will be built by C.P. Richards Construction Co. Inc.

The two-bay Station 29 will go in at 2800 Thompson Mill Road, just east of Sardis Church Road. The three-bay Station 18 will move from its Braselton Highway digs to 4 acres at the corner of Mineral Springs Road and Hog Mountain Road in Hamilton Mill.

Both will be state-of-the-art emergency response facilities, Rutledge said, with workout rooms for firefighters and EMTs, drive-through bays for the trucks (so they won't have to back out onto a busy street to turn around) and individual bunk room cubicles.

Station 18 eventually will get a ladder truck, which will allow firefighters to expand rescue services and fight fires from above, Rutledge said.

Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution