EFFINGHAM COUNTY -
When fires---or any type of emergency happens---every second counts.
To keep up with the growing population in Effingham County, the Sheriff's Office has added a brand new substation off Goshen Road in Rincon.
Tonight, I got an exclusive tour and will take you inside.
For our tour guide, Sergeant Ivey Williamson, this is a real treat.
"We had been hearing for a while that we were going to be getting something like this. But we weren't expecting anything this nice or this big."
There are still parts of the new Effingham Sheriff's substation in Rincon that he is seeing for the first time. But it's so much more than just that. It's also home to a new fire station and serves as home base for EMS.
Then, a surprise for Sgt. Williamson…
"Wow, it's a full kitchen."
When you work odd hours like they do, it's important to have all the comforts of home.
"The medics work 24 on and 48 off. I think the fire fighters work a similar schedule. We only work 12 hour shifts but it's nice for us to be able to come in here and get out of the rain to finish a report or meet someone up here to conduct an interview."
The new station has only been open for about a month now, but it's already seeing a lot of activity.
"The first time we used it was when we had the [standoff] in Westwood and the interview room was used. We had investigators down here and people that we were interviewing. We brought them here instead of taking them all the way into Springfield to the Sheriff's Office.
Which is not only better for first responders, but residents in the event of an emergency.
The new substation took about 6 months to construct. This is the county's second substation.
