It's been more than 20 years since Tulare County opened a new fire station.
On Wednesday, that changes. Tulare County Fire Department (TCFD) is celebrating the opening of the new Station 1, located at 25456 Road 140, just south of Visalia.
The grand opening ceremony takes place on Wednesday and marks the completion of the fire station. It's also the first day of full-time service to Tulare County citizens from this station.
"A lot of hard work and planning went into this," Tulare County Fire Chief Charlie Norman said. "This is very exciting. It's your station. It's the public's station."
This is the first fire station to be built for TCFD since 1996 when Doyle Colony Station 20 was built in Porterville. Since then, the population has increased dramatically.
The project was 13 years in the making and predates Norman, who has been with the department for six years.
"I was an engineer in Visalia at the time," he said. "With no grey hair."