Clayton County Debuts Modern New Home for Fire Station 9

Clayton County, Georgia has unveiled a new, purpose-built home for Fire Station No. 9, a modern facility designed to replace an aging station on Old Dixie Highway and strengthen emergency coverage in one of the county’s busiest corridors.

A Replacement Built for Growing Public Safety Demands

Publicly available project information shows that the new Fire Station No. 9 sits at 4181 Old Dixie Highway, replacing the former station located a short distance away at 4320 Old Dixie Highway near Hapeville. The move shifts firefighters into a larger, more modern building while keeping crews strategically positioned along a heavily traveled stretch that connects neighborhoods, industrial sites, and major transportation routes.

According to Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) documents, the new station spans roughly 9,994 square feet and uses a prototype design developed for Clayton County’s next generation of fire facilities. The layout is intended to streamline how firefighters move from living spaces to apparatus bays, with an emphasis on shaving precious seconds off turnout times when calls come in.

Project summaries indicate that the new Fire Station No. 9 has been delivered as a full replacement rather than a renovation of the existing building. By relocating rather than retrofitting, planners were able to reconfigure access points, driveways, and street frontage to accommodate modern fire apparatus and improve visibility for both emergency vehicles and passing motorists.

The station is part of a broader public safety investment program in Clayton County that includes new headquarters facilities and additional fire stations. Recent openings and groundbreakings across the county have reflected a multi-year push to update public safety infrastructure in line with population growth, commercial development, and increased traffic volumes.

Design Focus on Health, Safety, and Specialized Teams

Clayton SPLOST materials describe Fire Station No. 9 as a model facility incorporating “state-of-the-art” features aimed at protecting firefighters’ long-term health as well as improving response capabilities. The design introduces cleaner separation between living quarters and operational zones, a response to growing awareness of cancer risks and other occupational hazards linked to contaminants in traditional fire stations.

Project descriptions highlight dedicated fitness and wellness spaces within the new building. These areas are intended to support strength training, cardiovascular fitness, and recovery, recognizing that year-round physical readiness is central to firefighter safety and performance. The wellness focus aligns with a broader trend in firehouse design that treats stations as both workplaces and long-term homes for shift personnel.

The station is also planned as a hub for multiple specialized units. SPLOST information outlines space allocations for a Tactical Medical Team, Search and Rescue Team, Community Emergency Response Team, and a Community Treatment Unit. Housing these capabilities at Fire Station No. 9 is expected to streamline coordination for complex incidents and community-focused operations.

By combining everyday fire suppression duties with tactical medicine, search and rescue, and community response functions, the new station effectively serves as a multi-role public safety platform. This approach reflects evolving expectations for local fire departments, which increasingly handle medical calls, technical rescues, disaster response, and public education alongside structure fires.

Construction Timeline, Funding, and Project Delivery

Public project updates circulated through the Clayton SPLOST program trace Fire Station No. 9 from design to completion over several years. Early planning documents described the concept of a prototype station, while later status reports tracked site work, building construction, utility activation, and final inspections.

A February 2026 SPLOST newsletter listed an estimated total project cost of about 6 million dollars, covering design, construction, and associated site improvements. The work was delivered through the county’s SPLOST funding mechanism, which channels voter-approved sales tax revenues into capital projects such as fire stations, public safety facilities, and transportation upgrades.

Project summaries name POND & Company as the design firm responsible for the station’s architecture and layout, with Albion Construction identified as the construction firm. Updates through early and mid-2026 referenced milestones such as Georgia Power transformer activation, fiber installation, guardrail relocation, and contractor punch-list work, indicating that the building was moving into its final delivery stages.

By mid-2026, SPLOST progress notes reported that punch-list items were nearing completion and that Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services personnel were preparing to relocate to the new facility. The transition marks the culmination of a multi-phase effort that began with site selection and design work and has now produced a station ready to support crews for decades.

Strategic Location Along a Critical Corridor

The Old Dixie Highway corridor where Fire Station No. 9 is located provides access to residential neighborhoods, industrial properties, and major transportation links near the northern edge of Clayton County. Placement along this corridor is intended to maintain short travel distances to frequent call locations while also accommodating future development pressures.

County planning documents and public safety project overviews depict Fire Station No. 9 as part of a network of facilities designed to optimize response coverage. The station’s position complements other Clayton County fire stations serving nearby communities, major roadways, and employment centers, helping to balance workloads and reduce overlapping response times.

The relocation from 4320 to 4181 Old Dixie Highway also allows modern site engineering to play a larger role in operations. Updated access drives, improved turning radii for large apparatus, and contemporary traffic controls are expected to reduce delays when crews pull out for emergencies, particularly during peak commuting hours.

As development intensifies around Hapeville, Forest Park, and nearby logistics hubs, a newer station with updated infrastructure may help the department adapt to higher call volumes and more complex incident profiles, from industrial hazards to multi-vehicle crashes along arterial routes.

Community Role and Future Readiness

Beyond its operational mission, the new Fire Station No. 9 is expected to serve as a visible community anchor. Publicly available project materials note that the design supports training, outreach, and community-based programs, reflecting a broader emphasis on prevention and preparedness in modern fire service strategy.

The presence of a Community Emergency Response Team and Community Treatment Unit within the station points to an expanded role in neighborhood resilience. These functions can support everything from basic first-aid education and disaster drills to surge capacity during large-scale incidents that place heavy demands on emergency medical services.

Facilities such as Fire Station No. 9 also help signal long-term public investment in core services. By pairing a modern layout and health-focused design with specialized response capabilities, Clayton County’s latest station positions crews to respond to current needs while leaving room to accommodate new equipment, technologies, and staffing models in the years ahead.

For residents traveling Old Dixie Highway, the new building’s red apparatus bays and contemporary facade represent both continuity and change: a familiar fire service presence housed in a facility shaped by lessons from modern fireground science, evolving health standards, and the realities of a fast-growing county.