Charlotte Opens Firehouse 30: First All-Electric Firehouse in the City

Charlotte Fire launched Firehouse 30 on Tuesday. It's the city's first all-electric firehouse. A traditional uncoupling ceremony took place at 3019 Beam Road. The $10.3 million building replaces a temporary station that operated for over 30 years from a small house on Belle Oaks Drive.

The two-story building spans 14,000 square feet and contains three bays. Inside sits the city's first all-electric North American-style fire engine. Geothermal HVAC systems keep temperatures comfortable throughout the year, while in-slab radiant heating warms the floors during winter months. On-site charging stations power the electric vehicles, and rooftop solar panels generate about 29% of what the building needs to run.

The station protects roughly 9.7 square miles. This territory includes the Beam Road corridor and airport area. Firefighters will respond to calls from the southern edge of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, nearby factories and warehouses, and homes throughout Steele Creek.

Battalion Chief John Lipcsak walked attendees through the uncoupling tradition before the station went live. The ceremony signals when a firehouse shifts from construction site to active responder.

"With this uncoupling, Firehouse 30 is no longer just a building," Lipcsak said. "It is ready to respond, ready to serve, and ready to protect this community."

The old station started life as someone's home in 1957. It became Firehouse 30 in 1991. Firefighters called it "Grandma's House" because it looked like a residence — and according to station lore, it once belonged to a firefighter's grandmother.

Crews squeezed into tight spaces at the old location for decades. What began as a temporary fix turned into a permanent fixture as neighborhoods sprouted up around it.

"Today is about more than opening up a firehouse. It's about honoring people in places that carried the company for decades, preparing for what comes next," Johnson said.

The project will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. The Department of General Services and the Office of Sustainability and Resilience collaborated with the fire department to make it happen.