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Cabarrus County considers colocating Squad 410 at new Allen Volunteer Fire Department station
Summary
Allen Volunteer Fire Department is building a new station on Miami Church Road that would house Squad 410; county staff told commissioners the station could reduce ISO ratings for nearby properties, but could prompt fire‑district boundary changes and tax implications.
Cabarrus County commissioners discussed a proposal to colocate the county's Squad 410 with a new Allen Volunteer Fire Department station planned off Miami Church Road. Fire Marshal Jacob Thompson and Allen Fire Chief Randy Dozier told the board the station site has been cleared and graded, financing is in place with Pinnacle Bank, and the department's building committee is selecting a contractor.
Dozier said the proposed facility would dedicate about 3,000 square feet to Squad 410, including a bay, expanded day room, larger kitchen, two additional bathrooms and office space. He said adding Squad 410 to the station would add roughly $1 million to the project cost.
Thompson explained a principal motivation: portions of Jobost Road and surrounding areas fall outside the five‑mile ISO distance that yields lower insurance classification for properties. “If it falls outside of 5 miles from a fire station … those properties” do not receive the reduced rating, Thompson said, and locating a station nearer the area could lower ISO ratings for those properties and improve response times.
County staff said Squad 410 is currently housed at EMS Station 2 but is not optimally located to serve the departments it supplements. The proposed Miami Church Road site would be closer to most of the fire districts Squad 410 serves, with the exception of Midland Station 2, which is already staffed 24 hours.
Commissioners asked about downstream effects. County staff told the board there is currently no ordinance requiring a fire department to obtain county approval before building a station; however, the existence of a new station can prompt residents or departments to request fire‑district boundary realignments. Staff warned such boundary adjustments could shift tax burdens, noting that a district that loses territory might need to raise its fire tax to maintain its budget.
Commissioners directed staff to place the proposed colocation on the regular meeting action calendar for further consideration; the board voted to move the item to the action calendar for the next meeting.
