Atlanta closes another fire station

Fire Station #23 on Howell Mill Road near Chattahoochee Avenue will be “temporarily decommissioned” around the end of the month.

It’s now official: Fire Station #23 on Howell Mill Road near Chattahoochee Avenue will be “temporarily decommissioned” around the end of the month.

What that means is, the single-engine firehouse will be shuttered for an indefinite period of time and the firemen sent to other stations as part of a citywide effort to slash spending. Apparently, the 54-year-old station on the edge of the Berkeley Park neighborhood was singled out by a study that considered such factors as coverage area, response times and the number of 911 calls.

Councilwoman Clair Muller, who represents the area, is withholding judgment on the decision – which was ultimately made by Mayor Shirley Franklin – until she sees the results of the study.

“I don’t know how the neighbors will react, but they are at least owed a good explanation based on firm data,” Muller says.

The last time the mayor closed of a fire station, it touched off, well, a firestorm of protest. In early summer, Franklin announced the immediate – and permanent – closing of Station #7 near the West End. The city’s oldest working fire station, it was built in 1910.