Published: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 03:15 PM
Fire department gets $1.6 million grant
INDIAN LAND --
Initial revenue from the federal economic stimulus package is making its way to the Panhandle.
The Indian Land Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded $1.6 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Captain Mike Magette applied for funding through the grant and was surprised when he received an e-mail recently telling him that the department's application was approved.
The Indian Land department and the Heath Springs Fire Department are the only Lancaster County fire departments to receive funding through the stimulus act.
“It was pretty exciting,” Magette said. “Hopefully it will give us the space for full time firefighters in the future and more space for equipment so we're not having to stack everything in the way we are now.”
Right now, the Indian Land's Volunteer Fire Department has two full-time firefighters and 20 volunteers. It hopes to add more full-time firefighters and the $1.6 million grant will be used to expand the existing fire station to make room for sleeping quarters and office space. The money will also be used to add bays for fire equipment to avoid having fire equipment stacked in single bays.
In an emergency, it takes time for one truck to be taken out of a bay to get to the truck behind it, Magette added. Increasing bay space will increase the department's response time, though only minimally, he said.
The Indian Land Volunteer Fire Department covers the southern end of the Panhandle from Possum Hollow Road to Steele Hill Road.
Construction on the fire department additions should begin in four to five months. As invoices for the project are received, Magette said he will be responsible for submitting them to stimulus act officials for reimbursement.
Although Magette has written many grants before, this is his first successful attempt, he said. And while he wasn't very grant savvy just a few years ago, “I'm learning to be,” he said.
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