ROGERS — A topping out ceremony is always special because it’s the moment an idea starts to really take physical shape, according to Megan Eli, project architect at BUF Studio.
It’s a time when people can start to imagine how a building will impact their community, Eli told the crowd gathered for Thursday’s topping out ceremony at the new Rogers Fire Station No. 4.
The fire station at 2424 W. Olive St. is more than a building, according to Eli. It’s an investment in safety, service and the future of Rogers, she said.
“To the firefighters and first responders who will one day serve from this station, just know that every aspect of this building was designed with you in mind, to support the critical, often unseen, work that you do everyday to keep this community safe,” Eli said. “We hope it becomes a place that supports you through long shifts, demanding days and the vital work you do to protect the community. And for us it’s been an honor to play just a small role in that mission.”
Residents, firefighters, city staff, and construction workers took part in Thursday’s ceremony, many signing a structural beam added to the building at the end of the event.
James Martindale, project manager of Baldwin and Shell Construction, thanked residents for showing up to support the project, saying he was blown away by the amount of support the project has received.
An American flag and a small evergreen tree were placed on the beam during the ceremony. The tree is a symbol of good faith and good luck for all those who will use the building, Martindale said.
Marge Wolfe, a City Council member and chairperson of the council’s Public Safety Committee, emphasized the project being a symbol of the much needed growth of the station. She thanked the firefighters and first responders at the current Fire Station No. 4 for coming to help her when she needed it a while back saying they were not only helpful to what she needed at the time, but also gave her the final score of the Hogs game she was watching. The Hogs won that game.
Mayor Greg Hines agreed the new fire station has been a long time coming. The current building was built under a residential style of construction, which isn’t a good fit for firefighters, he said. They need something with steel and concrete, according to Hines.
In the mayor’s State of the City address earlier this year, he said both Fire Station No. 4 and Olive Street Park share the same city-owned property. They are being rebuilt together in a way that makes sense, keeping emergency services in place while also delivering a stronger station and a better neighborhood park, he said.
When Olive Street Park reopens, it will be larger and more dynamic, featuring safe play spaces for different ages, more recreation options with the addition of pickleball, shaded gathering areas and improved access to the Turtle Creek Trail, he said during the address.
Both the new station and the park are expected to open in 2027.
It’s not common for the city to put money into public safety and get an awesome park out of it, Hines said. The Walton Family Foundation and some private developers who have a vision for the future of Rogers worked together to help the city deliver an Olive Street Park that’s 10 times better than it ever was on its best day, he said.
The Fire Department responded to 8,711 incidents, including 5,920 EMS calls in 2o25, according to a news release from the city. Fire Station No. 4 plays a central role in emergency response in midtown Rogers as one of the busiest stations. Medic 4, the ambulance assigned to the station, handled 26.8% of all emergency medical service calls in 2025.
The new station will be designed to reduce emergency response times with improved apparatus circulation and faster-deploying bifold bay doors, allow crews to handle larger or more complex incidents more effectively, centralize critical EMS resources, increase staffing capacity and ensure infrastructure keeps pace with residential and commercial development, according to the release.
This is going to be a meaningful place for generations of firefighters young and old, Hines said. The mayor said it’s a building the department can grow into that will serve the community for years and years to come.
Jada Robison can be reached by email at [email protected].
Attendees gather Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Attendees gather Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Rogers Mayor Greg Hines speaks Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Rogers Fire Chief BJ Hyde speaks Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Rogers firefighters listen Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Marge Wolf, a Rogers City Council member and chair of the Public Safety Committee, speaks Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Architect Megan Eli speaks Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Attendees listen as James Martindale, project manager for Baldwin and Shell Construction Company, speaks Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)James Martindale, project manager for Baldwin and Shell Construction Company, speaks Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Attendees gather Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Attendees gather Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)Attendees sign a beam Thursday during a topping out ceremony for the new Fire Station 4 in Rogers. Members of the city administration and members of the construction and design teams gave comments before the beam was raised and put into place at the station. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)
Jada Robison
Jada Robison is the health and Rogers/Lowell city reporter for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She discovered her love for journalism writing for her University newspaper, The Bison, at Harding University. She went on to win first place in feature writing at a the Southeast Journalism Conference in 2021 and began writing for other publications outside of school. Post school she explored other avenues and occupations before deciding to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a writer.
