Huntersville fire chief outlines station, apparatus and staffing plan; station 5 land search continues

Chief Cottola, speaking for the Huntersville Fire Department, told the board the department is implementing a multi‑year plan to replace apparatus, add stations and expand staffing as the town grows. He said recent steps — including converting volunteers to full‑time staff — required new management roles and longer‑term capital planning.

The department plans to order two fire apparatus units within months because lead times for new trucks now run about three years, Cottola said. One unit (an engine) was scheduled as a routine replacement and another would support a future Station 5 that planners hope to locate in the town’s northeast corridor. He said typical new fire apparatus cost roughly $998,000 each and that the department expects to get 20 years of service out of a new engine (about 10 frontline years then ten years as a reserve).

Cottola and planning staff discussed the search for land for Station 5. Staff said negotiations on one candidate parcel (the Pennington/Oliver Hager area) have stalled because an estate includes many heirs and one heir has a substantial IRS lien; that lien would likely absorb sale proceeds and impede the town’s purchase. Planning staff said they have identified alternate parcels near Irvin Cook Road and county parkland that could be viable and that they are discussing options with Mecklenburg County. A station in that northeast corridor would bring response coverage closer to rapidly developing neighborhoods and new park and recreation areas.

On facilities, the chief said Stations 1 and 2 are aging and limited in expansion potential: Station 1 sits on constrained land and Station 2 cannot expand laterally due to adjacent property or utilities. He described station‑level needs for living quarters suitable for career staff, storage and generator capacity, and said station 5 is presently the program priority for new construction and for potential joint occupancy with limited police footprint ("touchdown" offices) rather than a full police precinct.

Cottola also urged the board to add three assistant fire chiefs (one per shift) to provide on‑shift management for a now careerized department and to sustain ISO improvements and operational oversight. He said the department had recently absorbed 18 full‑time firefighters from a predecessor organization and that the remaining management and support structure should follow to match the department’s new scale.

The chief described other equipment needs: a water tender/tanker may be needed for areas without hydrants, and the department intends to keep a mix of new and reserve apparatus instead of retiring units immediately. He said the department is exploring SAFER grants and other funding sources where practical and that proceeds from prior volunteer organization funds were transferred into a town safety fund earmarked for apparatus replacement.

Ending: Staff asked the board to support near‑term apparatus orders and to authorize continued work on Station 5 site acquisition and planning. No binding votes were taken during the presentation; staff signaled they would return with specific purchase and CIP requests.