Location of proposed Forest fire station OK’d by planning commission

By Justin Faulconer
Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: April 8, 2008

BEDFORD — A plan to build an 18,240-square-foot fire station in Forest was approved Monday by Bedford County’s Planning Commission.

The unanimous ruling, if made final by the Board of Supervisors, will allow the Forest Volunteer Fire Department to expand from its current 50-year-old facility on Burnbridge Road to a 6-acre site fronting Thomas Jefferson Road less than a mile from U.S. 221.

Fire Chief Monty Coleman said the department needs more space to serve Forest’s rapid growth. It has been planning its expansion for the past 15 months and in recent weeks discovered the 6-acre site for purchase.

Coleman said the site is more suitable than a previous plan to locate behind the Forest Library. Though county owned, the land was near several churches and was near the middle of one of the county’s busiest intersections — which Community Development Director George Nester said had potential to make it controversial.

Nester said the new site close to the Bateman Bridge Road intersection is one of the area’s most populated spots.

“It makes a lot of sense and practicality to locate at that site,” Nester said.

Coleman and other volunteer staff indicated Monday that all surrounding neighbors, including Thomas Jefferson Elementary School’s principal and Jefferson Villas, a developing residential neighborhood, were in support of the station’s new plans.

Nester also said that several county officials were on board, since it merits a public safety need.

“The Board of Supervisors and county administrator indicated their endorsement,” said Nester.

The new station won’t require a traffic signal at its entrance, Coleman said, but he has spoken with the Virginia Department of Transportation about installing a traffic indicator on the road’s shoulder whenever trucks pull out.

He said the department has a $333,000 purchase contract agreement on the site that has to be acted upon by mid-May. It plans to raise money through fundraising and donations from the community to complete the expansion, which he said should last another 50 years.