Mozell Booker, Shelly Wright and Fire Chief Mike Brent listen to questions from the audience.
Drawing of how the Kents Store Firehouse will look when completed and it is the frame work from which the Fork Union Firehouse is designed from.
By David Stemple
The auditorium area of the Fork Union Community Center on November 10th was packed with firefighters, community and county leaders and interesting citizens as Fluvanna Board of Supervisor Mozell Booker and county engineer John Robins discussed the new Fork Union Firehouse.
The new firehouse, which will be built on Rt. 15 next to the community center in Fork Union, will be paid for by a $1.4 million FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant with the county matching it with approximately $360,000. It was noted that the cost of this fire station will be higher than that of the Palmyra and Kents Store buildings because of the amenities required by the federal source grant and site work that will need done.
If all goes smoothly construction of this building should be complete between April and July 2011. When completed, all of the county's firehouses will have up to date facilities with the Lake Monticello Firehouse being the oldest firehouse built in 1990-91.
The new Fork Union Firehouse will feature three bays, with the capacity to hold six large fire vehicles. It will also feature facilities including a kitchen and bunk room that will allow firefighters to stay in the station in the event of bad weather/storms.
One concern of several audience members and a few firefighters is what will happen to the Fork Union Rescue Squad that also shares the current property. One audience member felt that more needed to be done for the rescue squads and that the county was only concerned about the fire departments.
County Fire Chief Mike Brent and Fluvanna County Assistant Administration Shelly Wright explained how the fire department and rescue squad were organized (Lake Monticello Fire Rescue, Fluvanna County Fire Department, Fluvanna County Rescue Squad, etc) and separate from each other by organizational structure and how all of the services are provided by volunteers. Booker said that she would look into this and report to the Board of Supervisors on the concerns of the citizens expressed at this meeting.
The meeting ended with a round of applause for all the Fork Union Volunteer Firefighters and for all that they do to keep the community safe. The county is now awaiting word back from FEMA to find out if any additional information is needed or if the project can go to bid.