Alpharetta firefighters will get a new clean room designed to strip carcinogens from their turnout gear, an upgraded apparatus bay with new doors, and renovated living quarters as part of a $3.3 million overhaul of Fire Station 81.

City leaders, firefighters, and project partners broke ground on the renovation and addition Tuesday, July 14, at the station site. Ajax Building Company is leading construction, with Jericho Design Group handling the design.

Council Member John Hipes said the project will also include a renovated day room and bunk room for crews who staff the station around the clock.

"Our firefighters keep us safe and this investment will help keep them safe and ready to respond," Hipes wrote in a post describing the ceremony. "This is another significant investment in our public safety and the future of Alpharetta."

The Station 81 project is one piece of a broader push to modernize the city's fire infrastructure. Renovations are also underway at Fire Station 82, according to WSB-TV, though the city has not released a cost or timeline for that work.

A department that's grown with the city

The upgrades come as Alpharetta's fire service operates at a scale far beyond its origins. The city's official Facebook page noted that Alpharetta once had 12 firefighters and two fire stations serving a population of about 13,000. The department now fields 99 firefighters across six stations for a population the city estimates at roughly 67,000.

The Alpharetta Fire Department holds an ISO Class 1 rating, placing it in the top 1 percent of all fire departments nationwide, according to Hipes.

The clean room expansion addresses a growing concern across the fire service: repeated exposure to cancer-causing chemicals that cling to protective gear after structure fires. The dedicated space will allow crews to decontaminate equipment on site rather than storing soiled gear in living areas.

The city has not announced a completion date for the Station 81 project.