Fire Station Number Five broke ground today in Kennewick.
The Kennewick Fire Department, Police Department, and other memembers from the city stood on sacred ground as a guest blessed the land where the new fire station will stand on the corner of 10th Avenue and Kellogg Street.
Fire Chief Vince Beasley said this will be the first station built in 21 years in Kennewick.
He also said as the city of Kennewick continues to grow, access to fires have become more difficult to the Kennewick fire stations.
"We're trying to strategically place our stations so that we can get to any 911 call in a matter of minutes," said Chief Beasley.
"Time is so critical for us, everything we do we're doing as quickly and as efficiently as we can so it's all about the public safety," he said.
The station will take nine to ten months to complete which means it should be up and running by summer.
In the meantime Chief Beasley said he will be promoting three captains, one of which will captain the new station.
Plans for station number six are in the works for the Southridge area.
The dates for this station have not yet been determined.