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Photos by Sarah Owens.
The city of Mountain Brook opened its new Fire Station No. 2 in May. The station was built to accommodate the growth and needs of the Fire Department and improve quality of life, health and safety for the city's firefighters, including a slide, sauna and larger gear room.
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Mountain Brook firefighters are settling into a facility designed not just for rapid response, but also for long-term health and professional excellence.
The city’s newly completed Fire Station No. 2 brings a major upgrade from the aging facility it replaces — offering better living conditions, expanded training capacity, and a workspace designed with firefighter wellness in mind. While daily emergency response remains swift and consistent, the new station’s impact is already being felt behind the scenes.
“This is our second home. We live here,” said Lt. Josh Belcher, an engine company officer who works the C shift out of the new station. “It’s so much different than just an office space where you just show up and you do your eight hours and go home. We eat here and sleep here and all that. So it’s great to have someplace of this quality.”
Completed earlier this year, the $11 million fire station is designed to reduce cancer risk and support firefighter wellness by separating hazardous materials from living areas. Gear and equipment are housed on the building’s “dirty” side, which includes showers, a sauna, and a self-contained workout room. The bay has its own dedicated air purification system to prevent carcinogens from entering the space, and the living space also has a separate HVAC system.
From a training standpoint, the new station has increased capacity and flexibility.
“Our ability to train more at this station — that’s going to prepare us better for the responses,” Belcher said. “Really, we provided a high level [of service] from our other station, it’s just that that place was kind of falling apart.”
Although the station’s location hasn’t changed significantly — it moved just down the street — the environment now better supports the firefighters’ performance and morale.
“The city really takes care of us,” Belcher said. “Chief Mullins is great to us. One of the things is, Mountain Brook is really where a lot of people want to come and work. Because of stuff like this, we’re able to draw in quality people.”
That draw has direct implications for the community, Belcher added. “We’re not just hiring anybody that’s certified. We’re hiring people that we want to work here, that we know have a good track record… That absolutely equates to better service for the citizens.”
Beyond training and equipment, the station’s role in retaining and recruiting top-tier personnel may be its most enduring asset. With improved facilities and a culture of care, Mountain Brook’s fire department continues to raise the standard of public service — starting from the inside out.
