DeKalb County breaks ground on nearly $10 million fire station

What is now a construction site will soon become a brand-new, nearly $10 million fire station designed to improve emergency response times in southeast DeKalb County.

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DeKalb County leaders celebrated the groundbreaking for Fire Station 27 on Pleasant Hill Road, near the Rockdale County line.

The new station will be the first addition to the county’s fire department in 20 years that is not a replacement for an existing station.

“We chose this location because we need to expand services,” county fire officials said.

The two-story, 14,600-square-foot station is expected to help relieve busy Fire Station 14, which serves Lithonia, parts of Interstate 20 and areas extending into Stonecrest.

“Adding this station will reduce response times in this area. It is a domino effect as well, so even the areas that 14 and 25 serve … keep them more readily available,” DeKalb County Fire Rescue Chief Melvin Carter said.

The new station will house up to eight or nine firefighters per 24-hour shift, with space for both male and female firefighters.

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The facility will include a fitness room, a commercial-grade kitchen and a multipurpose room that the community can use.

“We are able to accommodate, because during critical times and emergencies, these buildings become shelter,” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said.

The new station will also have significantly more space than the existing Station 14. The entire current station could fit inside the bay of Station 27, according to county officials.

The $9.6 million project is being funded through SPLOST, the county’s additional penny sales tax.

The station is expected to open by the end of next year or early 2028.

Beyond Station 27, three additional fire stations are in the works. Plans include a replacement for nearby Station 14 and two new stations, one in Stonecrest and another in Brookhaven.

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