Carbonado firefighters welcome new station house

Published 4:04 pm Thursday, April 30, 2009

By Jessica Keller, The Courier-Herald

The residents of Carbonado have a new fire station thanks to grants and the contributions of a few locals.

Fire Chief Matt Mills said the new station, which is located next to Town Hall, across the street from the old station, is up and running, as of Dec. 20, which is when the station had its first call - a fire alarm at the elementary school.

The new fire station was made possible by grants received by the Pierce County Community Development Division through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and property and appliance donations.

Firefighter Jim Hall applied for the first of the two-part grant in 2000, and the town received the first installment of $80,000, to do the planning and design, in November of that year.

Hall then had less than a week to apply for the second half of the grant by early 2001, and the town received $350,000 for the actual construction in 2002.

However, even with money, for the type of building that was needed, the town did not have enough for completion, and again Pierce County came through by giving them $65,000.

When all the final bids were in for the project, however, the cost was still $15,000 more than what the town had gathered. This time the town contributed $7,500, with Pierce County giving up the other $7,500.

The actual property for the station's site was donated to the town by Don and Betty Ross of Carbonado. More land, used for the driveway and road was donated by another firefighter.

Without the grants and the land donations, Mills said, the fire station would never have been built, and the fire department, comprised of 22 volunteer firefighters, would be stuck in its old building, which Mills said was far too small for the department's needs.

" In fact, with the city's budget, it wouldn't have been possible," he said.

The new hall has 2,800 square feet with drive through bays that span 17 feet high from floor to ceiling, which gives the department plenty of room to park.

Modern fire trucks were too big for the last fire department, and firefighters had to remove the light bars from the ceiling in order to pull into the last bay. The trim from the doors also had to be removed in order to give firefighters enough room, and even then, Mills said, there was little room to spare for movement.

The old fire department did not have drive through bays, and firefighters had to back into the bay, to park the truck, which was also difficult, Mills said.

The new station also has a spacious office and classroom, and another room will soon be split into three to keep supplies and a washroom. Appliances such as the refrigerator and washer and dryer set were donated by Weyerhaeuser.

Mills said he is happy to have his new station.

"It will be enough room for us for a long time," he said.

There will be an open house at the department from noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 21.

Jessica Keller can be reached at jkeller@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald