The station is set to have three bays, along with living quarters, three bedrooms, a kitchen, exercise room, as well as a training room that can be used for community events. Voters approved a 30-cent tax levy increase in August 2014 for the fire department. 

Each is a 95-percent grant with a 5-percent match.  

That would equal up to $45,238, up to $13,154 and up to $39,363 for the town's payments if awarded the grants, according to resolutions before the council at its Feb. 13 meeting.

One grant, Walker said, would provide funding to replace one station’s 50-foot ladder truck with a 100-foot truck, which costs an estimated $950,000.

The dual cab means more than two firemen can ride to the scene of an emergency, and the truck comes equipped with features the old one didn’t have, such as foam suppressing spray. The holding tank is double that of the old truck. Now that the truck has arrived, the two dozen volunteer firefighters have begun training to familiarize themselves with its features. Training is an ongoing process for the department

Colfax County Attorney Denise Kracl says rescue crews were called at 4:53 a.m. for an injury accident on Highway 30 at the Richland curve. An investigation revealed that a 36-year-old Columbus woman was driving her 2004 Chevy Trailblazer eastbound on Highway 30 when she lost control of her vehicle according to Kracl.  

The Trailblazer then crossed over the grassy median into oncoming traffic and struck a 2007 Buick LaCrosse being driven by a 53-year-old North Bend woman, says Kracl. The vehicles came to rest in the northwest ditch of the curving highway.

The truck has been a mainstay in parades for years and always brings out the crowds, said Marlin Lauver, one of only a few people trained to drive the vintage vehicle.  

Lauver said he's impressed with the restoration and looks forward to taking the truck for a spin.