On Saturday, Hall County Fire Services celebrated the opening of its two newest fire stations, No. 2 and No. 15, with a building dedication ceremony in Clermont.

Officials from the Hall County Board of Commissioners, the town of Clermont and Hall County Fire Services cut a fire hose, rather than the traditional ribbon, with trauma shears to mark the occasion.

A ceremony was held at 10 a.m. at station No. 2, which is located off Cleveland Highway in Clermont and opened June 1 with a staff of six, including ambulance personnel.

"We think this is a great thing for Clermont, to be able to join with Hall County to build this fire station," Clermont Mayor James Nix said Saturday morning.

Station No. 15, which is located on Autry Spur off Clarks Bridge Road, opened July 1 with a staff of three firefighters.

New fire stations are strategically located in the county to lower Hall’s ISO rating, which determines how much homeowners pay for insurance based on proximity to a fire station.

"When we improve people’s ISO ratings, when we get fire stations closer to them, we lower their insurance cost," District 3 Commissioner Steve Gailey said during the ceremony. "So the taxpayers do get a return on their investment."

Both stations were built with funds from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, a voter-approved, 1-cent sales tax program commonly called SPLOST that is used to support capital projects.