A new fire station for St. Mary Fire Protection No. 11 in Four Corners is on its way to becoming a reality.

According to Chief Clarence Clark, the department was notified that $1 million in capital outlay funding had been allocated for the project by the State of Louisiana.

“This facility will replace the current station that was built back in 1983. This station will have necessities and up-to-date, highly functional equipment, training aid, and facilities to perform the essential day-to-day operations within our community and assist neighboring communities,” Clark said.

The department has usually conducted meetings and training sessions at the West St. Mary Civic Center, but with the completion of the project the department will be able to host in-house training with state of the art material that will allow firefighters to have more hands-on training in the new facility.

“We are very pleased and ecstatic with this news and our hearts are overjoyed,” Clark said. “It’s been a very long time coming, and we are proud to see this finally come together for us.

“Our department needed it, but the community and citizens need it the most. For those who do not know, District No. 11 has the biggest jurisdiction in St. Mary Parish and operates out of four different stations.”

Clark said having a new central station will bring about much needed changes and allow and provide firefighters with the proper tools needed to focus on their duty to save lives when called upon.

“We are thankful for those who continuously pushed for the changes to come, not only to our community but to the neighboring communities as well,” Clark said. “This is only the beginning.”