Hattiesburg still negotiating with FEMA on rebuild of fire station destroyed in 2017 tornado

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - There was good news for the Hub City this week, as it announced that the rebuilding of the Timberton Softball Complex would begin soon.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is paying a little more than half the cost of constructing the new park, which was destroyed in the Jan. 2017 tornado.

But, Hattiesburg is still in negotiations with FEMA to fund the rebuilding of Fire Station No. 2, which was destroyed in the same twister.

The city wants to build a larger facility to replace the former station, which was located at the intersection of Claiborne Avenue and Arledge Street.

An arbitration board has ruled in Hattiesburg’s favor and says FEMA should help the city build its larger station.

The sticking points are how much FEMA will pay and where the new station will be located.

Hattiesburg is appealing to the FEMA Regional Administrator.

“We are waiting for our appeal date with the regional administrator (and) our congressional delegation, particularly Senator Wicker and Congressman Ezell, have been very helpful,” Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker. “We know for our firefighters and we know for the neighborhood.

“We want a state-of-the-art facility that we’re proud to call our own, that can service the needs of that neighborhood.”

A temporary Fire Station No. 2 is in operation, located next to the city’s new Public Safety Complex, at the corner of James and Edwards streets.

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