HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Hanover County is preparing to put the finishing touches on its newest fire station. The new station is being built on Laurel Meadow School Road, just off Lee Davis Road. The county held a groundbreaking for the space in November 2023. Hanover Fire and EMS Battalion Chief Chris Hubbard with Hanover Fire said that this location was specially chosen to provide faster service to those in the area. “This is our 17th station in the county. So, our newest one,” he said. It's just yards away from Laurel Meadow Middle School and equally as close to another Hanover neighborhood -- Hubbard says was not designed by accident. “The first thing that was the priority for us was having an ideal location,” Hubbard said. “So, we're excited to be this close to the children, to the school and we're excited to be in this neighborhood and help serve the folks in this particular area a little bit better.” When it is finally finished Fire Station 17 will be known as the Laurel Meadows Fire Station, its name representative of the area that it will be serving. “As our community grows, as our call volume grows, then we need to add fire stations to our fleet. The fact that those key apparatuses can be responding from here instead of the Mechanicsville fire station, which is miles down the road, will significantly reduce those response times and impact this community,” Hubbard said. The new facility sits on three and a half acres of land that was donated by the Hanover County School Board as surplus property and accepted by the Board of Supervisors in 2022. However, this station is already different from other fire stations in the county. “[Station 17] offers a decontamination room that will enhance the health and safety of our personnel," Hubbard said. "This will be one of the first fire stations that Hanover County has built that will have a dedicated fitness room. So, our folks can maintain a fitness level.” It will house a total of 12 firefighters, with four operating at the station each day. According to Hubbard, having the station at this location will improve the quality of service for the county overall. “Everything that we do has to do with our performance measures, and that's why this station was needed in order to maintain that excellent response time that our citizens and visitors expect every day here in Hanover County,” Hubbard said.   Hubbard says construction is on track to be finished shortly after the start of 2025. Fire crews anticipate moving into the new station during the first week in February.