NATCHEZ &045;&045; The building that Natchez firefighters call &uot;The Old Battle Station&uot; is about to lose the battle with time.

Fire Station No 4, located off Liberty Road, is sited for destruction by the first of the year to make way for the Natchez Trace Parkway extension to intersect with Liberty Road.

City Attorney Walter Brown said that a new fire station would be built across Seargent S. Prentiss Drive on Wood Avenue and should be finished by Summer 2005.

&uot;It will be a big improvement on the old one. The old one was about 2,800 square feet and this one will be about 4,000 square feet,&uot; Brown said.

&uot;This one needs to be bigger than the old one that was built in the early 50s. Fire trucks are bigger now and also you need to have facilities to accommodate both men and women these days. There are new considerations with electronic communications equipment with Homeland Security, as well,&uot; he said.

Chief Paul Johnson said that he looks forward to the construction of the new firehouse.

&uot;The new one will be a state of the art building. The living quarters are going to be bigger. The lockers will be built in instead of the old metal wall lockers. Each firefighter will have his own space, that’s what will really make it special,&uot; he said.

Johnson credits former Natchez Mayor Butch Brown with taking the initiative during the early stages of planning the new fire station.

&uot;Butch Brown really helped get this off the ground back when the parkway expansion planning first began. He has been a true friend to the city of Natchez,&uot; he said.

Johnson said that the new building, with land acquisition, would cost around $500,000.

He also said that the new firehouse will also be getting a new fire truck that will cost $307, 000.

The nine firefighters that currently work at Station 4 will be housed in the Central Station on Main Street until the new firehouse is completed and ready to be occupied.

While there is some sentimental attachment to the old building, firefighters said that a new firehouse is badly needed.

&uot;It’s older than me, they need to tear it down,&uot; said Lt. Kenny Logan, who is stationed at No. 4.

&uot;It’s time to tear it down before it falls down,&uot; said Capt. Chuck Golden.

Golden said that he spent over 10 years of his 20-year career as a firefighter at &uot;The Old Battle Station&uot;.

&uot;In its day, it was the best station in town, as far as location and the number of calls we got in,&uot; he said.

&uot;I always consider it home, but I’m really not going to miss the building,&uot; Golden said.