The NLR Fire Station 8 officially opened at its new location in Burns Park on November 6, 2023.
From THV11 – Chief Tucker explained how having the new location in the park will improve response times.
“Right down the road, we’ve got a train track and there’s 54 freight trains that go through there a day and our other station is on the other side of so it kind of impeded us from responding to a lot of calls,” he added.
The new 8,500 square-foot building includes a memorial for North Little Rock Firefighters, four bedrooms, a living area as well as a bedroom and office for the Battalion Chief.
Chief Tucker helped design it and wanted to include a memorial to honor those who are no longer with us.
“We’ve never had a place to honor our fallen. we thought it was about time that we come up with a place,” he described.
Karen Robinson came to Monday’s ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening and honor her late husband Jerry Robinson, better known as “Red Bear.”
He worked for the fire department for more than 20 years and died from cancer in 2022.
“This was our second family and actually station 8 was Jerry’s last station before he transferred into the Fire Marshals office. He was at the old facility so this is very special to me,” Robinson said.
