Allendale County breaks ground on long-awaited St. Mark fire station

After years of discussion at Allendale County Council meetings, St. Mark finally has a new fire station on the way, a change county leaders say could reshape emergency response in one of the county’s more heavily populated areas.

County and state leaders broke ground April 19 on the one-acre Bluff Road site, moving forward with a project backed by $1.2 million in state funding that also covers a fire truck for the station. The investment comes after years of pressure from residents and local officials who said the St. Mark area lacked nearby fire protection despite the number of homes and businesses that depend on it.

County Council Chairman William E. Robinson called the groundbreaking a proud occasion and said the station had been a long time coming. Fire Chief Franklin Stanley said the need was obvious in a part of the county where fire coverage can affect both emergency response times and property insurance costs.

That insurance issue has been a recurring concern for St. Mark residents, according to Councilwoman Willa Jennings, whose district includes the area. Jennings said people had been raising concerns about high premiums for years, and she credited Rep. Lonnie Hosey and Sen. Brad Hutto for helping secure the state dollars that made the project possible. The station’s funding and location mark a tangible shift for a community that has spent years asking for a stronger public safety presence.

The construction schedule is now beginning to take shape. J.D. Gaskins Construction said it is ordering a prefabricated steel building, with site work expected to start in about a month and building work to follow roughly two and a half months later. That timeline suggests the county is moving from planning to visible construction, though the opening date will depend on how quickly the site work and building phases move forward.

For St. Mark residents, the stakes are practical. A station closer to homes and businesses should improve fire protection coverage and help reduce the kind of delay that can matter in a rural emergency. It may also help strengthen the area’s standing with insurers, since weak nearby fire service often drives higher premiums. After years of lobbying, state grant work and local coordination, Allendale County is finally putting a permanent fire base in place where residents have said it was needed most.