NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Rebuilding after the tornado that happened on March 31 continues seven months later, and on Monday the City of North Little Rock celebrated the completion of its newest fire station in Burns Park.
Fire Station 8 was expected to open in April, but the EF-3 tornado that swept through Burns Park had other plans.
"It took off the roof because water damage throughout. I mean all the insulation, sheetrock, everything had to be taken. So it pretty much had to be gutted, but we just kept plowing on," North Little Rock Fire Chief Gerald Tucker said.
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.
Although the fire station is open, the rest of Burns Park is still a work in progress.
Mayor Terry Hartwick said reopening Funland and the soccer fields is at the top of his to-do list.
"All the pavilions are gonna be up, as you can see the baseball fields, we're redoing right now," Mayor Hartwick said.
He said the new pickleball courts will open up on Wednesday and his goal is to open the soccer fields in December.
"We're getting there. It's been a battle but we're getting there," he added.
The city is also fixing roads around the park after debris trucks tore them up, which is expected to cost around $4 million dollars.