Sandy Springs approved spending $10 million during its Public Facilities Authority meeing on July 15 to buy 6.6 acres of land to move Fire Station No. 4 inside city limits.
The adjacent parcels are on Roswell Road between Green Hill Road NE and Beachland Drive NE, approximately one mile south of I-285. It is approximately two miles north of the current fire station.
In addition to the purchase price, the owner of the property will get a $2.6 million tax credit for the improvements made to the property in preparation for the property owner’s planned development.
The city council approved a purchase agreement with the property owner. The purchase will be made once the city completes a $50 million bond issue. The bond issue, which is in the city’s budget, was designated for Fire Station No. 4, Fire Station No. 1, and improvements at Fire Station No. 3.
Fire Chief Keith Sanders said in addition to a new fire station, the department needs space for a logistics center, a training center, and a gas and diesel fuel center for fire and police vehicles.
“Every year, I have to send our fire trucks 26 miles outside the city limits of Sandy Springs to Warren Drive in Decatur for live fire training in the DeKalb fire station, their fire training headquarters,” Sanders said.
Firefighters from other agencies, including Roswell and Cobb, have to man the Sandy Springs fire stations when those crews are in training. The training is necessary to comply with Insurance Services Office, which evaluates fire protection services based on factors such as fire department operations, water supply, emergency communications, and community risk reduction efforts.
The fire department must meet standards set by the ISO to maintain its Class 1 rating, the highest level of service. A better rating can lead to lower fire insurance rates.
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The city purchased a fire station at 4697 Wieuca Road from Atlanta for $1.24 million in 2014. City Manager Eden Freeman told the city council that deed restrictions required Sandy Springs to answer Atlanta fire calls from city limits down to Pharr Road in Buckhead.
Fire Chief Keith Sanders reported that in 2024, the 345 Atlanta incident responses cost Sandy Springs $530,796. Fire trucks spent 169 hours in 2024 being unavailable for calls inside Sandy Springs. Those costs are not reimbursed by Atlanta.
Once the fire station is within city limits, the firefighters won’t be responsible for those calls outside of the city.
Another reason Sanders cited for moving the fire station inside the city regards response time. It takes eight to 10 minutes for firefighters to respond to emergency calls involving a cardiac event. Responders need to be on scene within six minutes for a chance to save a life.
Once the new Fire Station No. 4 is built, Atlanta will have first right of refusal to purchase the Wieuca Road property at market rates, estimated at $3 million. If Atlanta decides not to buy back the property, Sandy Springs can sell it on the open market.