VA Fire Station to Be Renovated after Abrupt Shutdown

PETERSBURG, VA—After its shutdown in April, Fire Station 4 in Walnut Hill is undergoing renovations and repairs that are scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer.

City leadership said that financial losses from COVID-19 and issues related to mold caused the building's closure. Residents and former Petersburg firefighters were angered by the abrupt closure of Station 4, which responds to a large portion of the city.

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Petersburg City Council approved an emergency requisition of $46,000 in May for immediate repairs to the station. Those repairs are set to finish in August 2020.

So far, crews have finished interior mold and asbestos remediation, while making exterior repairs to concrete on the north side of the facility. A new drainage trench was made to carry water away from the facility.

Still left to finish—flooring throughout the entire facility, kitchen flooring and cabinetry, and clearing trees from the back of the property.

Engine staff have been doubled up in Station 5 on Johnson Road since the closure of Station 4. Once repairs are complete, the station will reopen to firefighters.

City leadership says that Walnut Hill Station is antiquated, and that a replacement station could be built in the future.

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