FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — It’s a new day and a new fire station for Cal Fire.

Firehouse 72, stationed off Millerton Road and Saubrice Avenue in Fresno County, held a grand opening on Thursday.

“The last station we opened was in Carruthers in 1993. That was more than three decades since we last cut a ribbon,” said Fresno County Fire Chief Dustin Hail.

The new fire station has been in the planning stages for about 20 years.

Chief Hail explained that the development moved forward once they were able to buy the land from Granville Realty.

Ultimately costing more than $5.5 million.

“We are super blessed to be able to have a 7,000 square-foot fire station with three apparatus bays for the cost that we have,” said the Fire Chief.

County officials said it’s money well spent.

Board supervisor Nathan Magsig added that the county offered Cal Fire money years ago from a general fund to prevent fire stations from closing.

“Because of a lot of the dangers right now, as we continue to grow as a community, the wildfires that continue to happen every summer, it’s important to make sure that we maintain and even enhance services when it comes to fire protection,” said Magsig.

Officials said this new location is central to the area where they were previously stationed.

Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni believes it enhances community safety and strengthens the relationship between Cal Fire and law enforcement agencies.

“Think about some of the major fires that we’ve had in Fresno County, starting with the Creek fire, the Garnet fire. We’re always working hand in hand with Cal Fire. We’re working on evacuations, road closures, area closures. And so, they are a huge asset to us as we are an asset and resource to them,” said Sheriff Zanoni.

Officials said this new station is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to assist the fire crew at Station 72.

The firehouse is less than two miles from Milton Lake, and officials said they will also have a boat on hand to assist with water rescues when needed.

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