CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It’s no secret Clarksville is growing, and growing fast! To keep up, Clarksville Fire Rescue has big changes coming.  

“We took the oath to do those things, to keep people safe and we can’t do it if we don’t have the right tools, the right mindset, and the right approach to getting what the people need,” Clarksville Fire Rescue Chief Freddie Montgomery Jr. told News 2.  

The department is knee deep into major capital projects, all focused on keeping response times down three to five minutes. 

“Even 30 seconds can make a difference if you’re trying to cut somebody out of a car or make entry into a house and clear out smoke to help find somebody, so seconds count in our business,” Montgomery explained.  

One of the three projects involves moving Station 6 from Ashbury to the intersection of Arrowwood and South Jordan Drive to avoid engines from having to navigate through traffic on Ft. Campbell Boulevard.  

The new Station 6 will also offer zones so firefighters don’t have to wear gear with potential carcinogens from debris into living quarters. 

“We’ve done some time studies and it actually makes us a lot quicker, even to things we may be further away from,” Montgomery said.  

In addition, Station 3 will be torn down and built in the same location.  

With stations 6 and 3, both built in the 60s, the goal is to update facilities to accommodate both males and females on the job, make room for more staff, and better fit their equipment.  

“NFPA is pushing basically a national study about fire stations because most stations were built for 10 or 20 years, and there’s some that are 60, 80 and 100 years old, and we just keep redoing those stations. So now, there’s standards to building fire stations and we’re going to meet that standard,” Montgomery added.  

Finally, a pile of dirt located behind Station 1 is on its way to becoming the department’s new, 20,000 square foot headquarters. The building will be home to six new training classrooms, an auditorium, and will bring all department division heads under one roof.  

“In a city that’s growing like this and a city this size, you want your citizens to be safe. You always hear where they work, live and play, you want it to be safe for them, and I think it’s our responsibility to keep up with that,” Montgomery said.

For more information on the progress of Clarksville capital projects, click here.