Fresh Loaf

Those Westside folks certainly place a high premium on remaining flame-free. The Berkeley Park Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a welcome-back party tomorrow morning for the crew of Fire Station 23, which will reopen courtesy of the recent tax increase.

The festivities begin at 7 a.m. with bagels and coffee, but don’t feel bad if you can’t make it. A more formal event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, with food and drinks donated by local restaurants. BPNA President Michael Wagoner says that gathering will be the kick-off for a fund drive to raise money for the renovation of the ’40s-era fire station.

If your interest in Fire Station 23 still hasn’t been satisfied by attending these events, you can read this moving account of the station’s history.

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Well, not quite yet, but Michael Wagoner, president of the Berkeley Park Neighborhood Association, tells me that their local station at 1545 Howell Mill Road is scheduled to reopen on Thursday, thanks to Monday’s approval of a $541 million city budget that included a 3-mill tax increase.

Station 23 was ordered closed by Mayor Franklin late last year as city revenues continued to dip. The administration said then that the closure was temporary, but that didn’t seem to satisfy the neighbors, who gathered hundreds of signatures to persuade the mayor to re-open the station.

Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran laid out the benefits of the tax hike in an e-mail to Wagoner:

For citizens, the measure restores services that were reduced or eliminated due to furloughs by restoring personnel to normal work hours and work schedules. Atlanta Fire Rescue will have the capacity to staff Engine 23 and Truck 12. For employees, the tax increase benefit will restore 10 percent of their salary, which is a tremendous blessing and morale booster during these tough economic times.

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