Escambia County celebrated Beulah’s newest fire station with a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony of the Bradshaw-McNair Fire Station held Thursday, July 11, the fire department said in a Facebook post.
District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh opened the ceremony by recognizing staff for their dedication and commitment to the new fire station.
The 14,503-square-foot facility will feature four vehicle bays for fire apparatus, according to a report on the city’s Web site, myescambia.com. Along with the standard features within a fire station, such as a kitchen, living room area, gym, bedrooms, and shower facilities, the new Beulah fire station will include a community meeting and training room for public use.
Construction of the Bradshaw-McNair Fire Station was completed by Emerald Coast Constructors, Inc., and was fully funded by Local Option Sales Tax, or L.O.S.T.
Chief Steve McNair served the citizens of Escambia County at two previous Beulah fire stations over the span of six decades as a district fire chief. He, personally, helped construct the previous Beulah Fire Station that still stands outside the Bradshaw-McNair Fire Station.
Chief Dwain Bradshaw tragically passed away in the line of duty on Nov. 6, 2019, while on the scene of an active call. During the ceremony, his father, Dwain Sr., and father-in-law, Creighton Jordan, honored Chief Bradshaw’s memory and his dedication to serving his community.
“With the opening of the brand new Bradshaw-McNair Fire Station in Beulah, this community will have a state-of-the-art facility, a full-time staff, and multiple pieces of new firefighting and lifesaving equipment that will help protect the citizens and property,” said District 1 Commissioner Jeff Bergosh. “This is a fitting tribute to the two men for whom this station is named, Dwain Bradshaw and Steve McNair, as this facility and those who man this station going forward will continue the legacy of service that Mr. Bradshaw and Mr. McNair epitomized. I am thankful for all the staff who worked for the last seven years to keep this project going, and I want to thank my predecessor, Commissioner Wilson Robertson, for his efforts to get momentum behind this project nearly a decade ago. A project like this requires patience, persistence and teamwork, and in this case, the team had it. This station is the fruit of this teamwork.”
The Bradshaw-McNair Fire Station is located directly behind the former Beulah Fire Station, which has served Beulah residents since 1977. Numerically, the fire station will remain as ECFR-Station #2.
“This is an exciting time for the community of Beulah and for Escambia County Fire Rescue,” said Fire Chief Adam Harrison. “We have seen tremendous growth and opportunity in this community, and we’re honored to continue the elevation of Beulah with the addition of this fire station, which will serve the Beulah citizens 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
