MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In the 2600 block of Avery in Midtown, a two-story building has risen as the Memphis Fire Department took the wraps off of its new $7 million headquarters.
After five years in the making, Fire Chief Gina Sweat along with Mayor Jim Strickland and other top brass cut the ribbon on the new headquarters featuring a bell tower, arched doorways and art.
“To have a space like this to better serve not just the citizens of Memphis, but better serve the members of our department is pretty overwhelming,” Chief Sweat said.
Even more important, the state-of-the-art building is created to make the department even more efficient to fight fires.
“It’s only fitting that we have a top-of-the-line headquarters for the best fire department in the country,” Mayor Strickland said.
This will also be a fire campus for firefighters, paramedics and a one stop shop for Memphians needing fire services.
“So, we have our 911 center to the left,” Sweat said. “It also houses our healthcare navigators’ team in that building, and to our right have our Office of Emergency Management, our fire prevention bureau and our EMS admin people.”
The old headquarters at Front Street near Union Avenue will be torn down to make way for the new Memphis Brooks Museum of Art building, which is a move the fire chief says embraces its past and looks to the future to better serve the city.
“That’s what we do. We have our arms around the city,” Sweat said. “I call it the hug.”
The long, vacant five-story training tower near Avery could be eventually converted into a wellness facility for fire and police.
