County fire station goes full-time

Published 1:36 pm Friday, May 23, 2025

History was made Monday morning when, for the first time, the Meriwether Fire Station in Baldwin County was manned full-time by a firefighter.

“We’re here this morning to commemorate the opening of this station as a full-time station with a full-time staff,” said Baldwin County Fire Rescue Chief Paul Adams.

The fire chief said the Meriwether Fire Station is the last in the county to become staffed full-time.

“This station, as Pres Haslam told me, was built in 1989, and the tanker here was the first truck that y’all got, and it was kept at the marina,” Adams told those who attended the ceremony.

Haslam and his father, Al, along with Marion Nelson, are three of the original members of the Meriwether Fire Station, which is located off Ga. Route 212.

All three of them started years ago as volunteer firefighters. They still volunteer at the Meriwether Fire Station.

“We believe that this is the longest continuously serving station that was all volunteer here in Baldwin County,” Adams said. “We’re happy that they have continued to be good stewards of their equipment, taking good care of everything here and making sure that calls are answered. They are excited about us moving forward and having a full-time person here 24 hours a day, around the clock. I’ll tell you, they are pretty quick. You can always hear Marion on the radio.”

Adams and members of the county fire department command staff are hopeful that having a full-time firefighter on duty at all times will speed up call times for residents.

“We’re very excited about this,” Adams said.

Baldwin County Commission Chairman Andrew Strickland and District 5 Commissioner Scott Little also attended the ceremony.

“We’re very excited to have all of our fire stations in Baldwin County 24-hour stations,” Strickland said. “I think as time goes on here, we’re going to try to improve emergency services through increasing our manpower and reducing our response times to our citizens. I just can’t thank Chief Adams enough, Deputy Chief Bradley Towe and Administrative Chief Sheri Kniep and all of our volunteers.”

He commended the volunteer firefighters.

“Baldwin County is much better because you guys have done what you’ve done and continue to do what you do as a service to our citizens. And to our full-time personnel, I can’t thank you enough for the dedication you show day-in and day-out to the citizens of Baldwin County,” Strickland said. “I think this is just great news here.”

Commissioner Little said it all started with emails from some residents who live in that area of Baldwin County, noting that a full-time firefighter was needed at the station because of the area’s growth.

Little said a debt of gratitude was owed to the volunteer firefighters who make a difference in the lives of people living in that part of the county.

“Chief Adams had conveyed to me that there was a really great core group, and the reason this station went unmanned or unstaffed for as long as it did was because of the work of these guys,” Little said. “The work of this volunteer team was so good that Chief Adams and the rest of the leadership of the Baldwin County Fire Department were able to use resources elsewhere where they were needed.”

Deputy Chief Towe said the three full-time firefighters assigned to the station include firefighters Anthony Williams, Brad McGloen and Jonathan Soilean.