By JILL MCNEAL
6 News Anchor/Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - The Karns Volunteer Fire Department is growing along with the portion of West Knox County it serves.
It's been more than two years since the department put subscription fees in place to cover the costs of fire protection.
The department is now using a portion of those fees to build a new fire station at the corner of Campbell Station Road and Hardin Valley Road, just down the street from Hardin Valley Academy.
"It's going to be a state-of-the-art center. It will be a fire station that will serve this community, my hope is for at least 40 to 50 years," said Karns Fire Chief Ken Marston.
The new building is replacing one down the road that the chief says is too old and too small. "We can't even get the new fire engine in our old location," he said.
The old building just began being staffed around the clock in October, two people at a time eat and sleep in one small room.
"This station is going to have its own dining area, its own cooking area," Marston said. "It will have a weight lifting and exercise room. The number one killer of firefighters is not smoke and fire. It's heart attack and stress."
Marston says a bigger and better fire station with more firefighters and equipment in Hardin Valley means help will arrive faster for people in the area.
"This guarantees that on 80 percent of our calls, we'll be within that six minute time frame," he said.
The construction is also unique, with a back-up power source and walls that can withstand 150 mile-per-hour winds. "If emergency services has to dig out to come help you, we're not doing our job," Marston said.
The 8,800-square-foot, $1.6 million new station is set to open at the end of October or the beginning of November.
The fire department will soon raise its subscription fee from seven to eight cents a square foot. That's $160 a year for a 2,000-square-foot home.
If you don't subscribe and Karns firefighters are called to your home, you will be billed for their services which could be thousands of dollars.
"It's going to be a state-of-the-art center. It will be a fire station that will serve this community, my hope is for at least 40 to 50 years," said Karns Fire Chief Ken Marston.
The new building is replacing one down the road that the chief says is too old and too small.
