Firehouse 47 to boost emergency response at CLT

A version of the following article appeared in the May 29, 2026, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

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by Ted Reed

Construction of a new Charlotte fire station next to the airport’s new runway, also under construction, formally began Wednesday, a symbol of the continued growth of two key pieces of a growing city’s infrastructure.

A large American flag towered over the planned fire station’s site, as about 150 people, about half of them uniformed firefighters, gathered under a cloudy sky to celebrate the groundbreaking. Noise from nearby airplanes occasionally drowned out speakers and conversations. 

“As Charlotte grows, our infrastructure must grow with it,” said Haley Gentry, Charlotte aviation director, during the ceremony.  Fire Chief Reggie Jackson said the new station “represents preparedness, growth and our commitment to protecting one of the busiest airports in the world.”  The cost is $41M, paid by the city.

To be known as Firehouse 47, the station at 4104 Yorkmont Road will open in the fall of 2027, as will the nearby new runway, the fourth parallel at the country’s 11th-busiest airport by passengers and the world’s seventh-busiest by takeoffs and landings. The fire department, meanwhile, is the largest between Washington, D.C., and Miami, with 45 existing stations, with two under construction, and 1,200 firefighters. (Atlanta’s fire department protects a smaller area.)

The station is required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which mandates that fire departments be able to respond in three minutes to the midpoint of the farthest runway when there is an emergency call from an airplane, said Jack Christine, the airport’s chief infrastructure officer.

A second responding vehicle must be able to respond within four minutes, he said. In general, the Charlotte Fire Department is required to respond to all calls within six minutes, said Battalion Chief John Lipcsak, department spokesman.

The Charlotte Fire Department currently has two stations that serve the airport, one near the three existing runways and one near the terminal. Lipcsak noted that with its daily flow of passengers, employees and visitors, “Charlotte airport is the seventh-busiest city in North Carolina.” The airport fire station normally handles eight to 10 calls per day, he said. A runway station handles four or five calls per day. Many represent a response to pilots’ calls when engine lights indicate problems.

Following the ceremony, Gentry spoke with reporters about the one-year extension, until June 30, 2027, of the lease between the airport and its airlines. “The year buys us more time because we’re not complete yet,” she said. Among the outstanding questions, she said, is whether JetBlue would become a “signatory” airline at Charlotte. JetBlue said this month that it will operate three daily departures to Fort Lauderdale, starting July 9.

Christine said airport planning includes expanding Concourse C, used by hub carrier American Airlines. The planning envisions 10 to 12 added gates and an underground tunnel to the atrium. The work requires major reconfiguration of the airfield ramp near the concourse. It could be completed in 2031: Concourse B expansion could begin then.

The new runway will have a name, “01C-19C.”  In fact, the airport is repainting and redesignating its three existing runways. The westernmost runway, previously known as 36L-18R, was first, with its name changing to “01L-19R” two weeks ago.

Change is needed because the airport has multiple north-south parallel runways, and only three can be designated left, center, and right.

Ted Reed, a former Miami Herald and Charlotte Observer reporter, is the author of “American Airlines, US Airways and the Creation of the World's Largest Airline.”