Duncanville Volunteer Fire Department gets new location

In Tuscaloosa County, the Duncanville community will soon welcome a new volunteer fire station, safe room, and polling place.

Thanks to the Tuscaloosa County Commission the new Duncanville volunteer fire station will be built off Highway 82 east, about half a mile from the current facility.

The original location is next to Maxwell Elementary School, Fire Chief Billy Doss said the department is looking to expand and there is little room for parking in the area.

"The County commission came to us and asked us if we would consider, if they helped us with the new station would we take the voting place and let it be in our station and we said sure," said Doss.

After construction the new station will serve as a polling place, which will relieve Duncanville Middle School.

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The biggest news of all is that Duncanville gets its first storm shelter, it will be bult adjacent to the new fire station and hold more than 300 people.

"Duncanville does not have a storm shelter of any kind so we are overdue, and we have been working on that a long time too and this will be a safe room, it won't be the typical metal building," said Doss.

Residents in Duncanville believe are thrilled for a storm shelter in the area.

"That's the greatest idea there is, you have no idea how many people get terrified when a tornado comes through. We just want something safer for all of us," said Maria Duenes.

Plans call for the Duncanville fire station near the elementary school to be dissembled and rebuilt on Hargrove East.

Chief Doss stated this location change will help the department serve more people in that area.

ALDOT will also create a median on Highway 82 for access to the new fire station.