Madison city leaders to bring new ‘safety annex’ to Town Madison

MADISON, Ala. (WAFF) - A new fire station and a police substation are coming to Town Madison. City leaders say these additions are going to improve how quickly first responders can help you and they just might lower your insurance rates.

Madison Mayor Paul Finley says the city is quickly growing and needs more police officers and firefighters and plenty of space for them to work.

He plans to make that space by turning an office building at 23 Ludie Richard Dr. into a public safety annex that will house a large police substation and a new fire station.

“All of those pieces are critical,” said Mayor Finley. “So as public safety in the city of Madison is enhanced, it continues to stand strong.”

Madison Fire Chief David Bailey says a new fire station in the area will help firefighters quickly reach homes on the south side of Madison. He says there has been an increase of 500 calls in the city in the past year.

“It’s so important for us to have a station that’s co-located next to all this population of occupancies that are popping up here,” explains Chief Bailey. “You know the hundreds of apartments and homes popping up here in Town Madison.”

He says insurance companies use data on how close your home is to a fire station when determining rates. The new station will help many of the neighboring homeowners with their bills.

“It makes their insurance rates the lowest they could be,” said Mayor Finley. “So getting farther south not only helps us with the Town Madison area but also all the way down Zierdt Road into Edgewater.”

It will be around 38,000 sq. ft. when it is complete.

Mayor Finley says in addition to the new fire station and police substation, it will hold rooms for training and more.

“A big classroom for police and fire, police has a simulator they can use that we can set up a full time now,” says Mayor Finley. “We’ll move all of our evidence there and have a better opportunity for our detectives to spread out and be more efficient.”

City leaders say the project will take about a year and a half to complete.

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