Smeal—Community Volunteer Fire Department Station 32, Belmont, NC, pumper. Spartan Metro Star EMFD with 10-inch raised roof cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax XS 2,000-gpm pump; UPF Poly 750-gallon water tank; 30-gallon foam cell; Williams ATP 1500 Class B single-flush foam system; TFT manual Extend-A-Gun deck gun. Dealer: Rob Smith, Atlantic Coast Fire Trucks, Denver, NC.

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The West Point Fire Department’s budget will be increased from $96,000 to $1.8 million for the 2023 fiscal year, according to Conor Miller, the president of Local F-7 of the International Association of Firefighters, recordonline.com reported.

With the restored budget, the department plans to repair and replace fire trucks and purchase thermal imaging cameras that will allow firefighters to see through smoke, the report said.

The change comes shortly after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer held a press conference Jan. 11 at the United States Military Academy, where he noted the department’s budget has been slashed nearly 92% since 2014. Schumer said the budget cuts could threaten the safety of both firefighters and Hudson Valley residents, and he asked Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth to restore the department’s budget.

In a Jan. 20 letter to Schumer, Wormuth said her office considered the safety of both firefighters and the Hudson Valley community when they decided to reverse their previous decision, the report said. The Army, she said, would also accelerate the delivery of three repaired fire trucks in February and the completion of the $4.6 million renovation of the Washington Road fire station by September, according to the report.

Effingham County Fire Rescue’s new Station 13, just south of the roundabout on GA Hwy 119 in Guyton, is almost ready for occupancy, the department announced on Facebook Jan. 20. The department is waiting for a signal from the contractor. It has hopes of a February move-in date.

Capt. Hannah Jenkins said, “We are excited for the relocation of the Guyton area station, from the old elementary school on Sixth Avenue to a new, purpose-built station on Hwy 119 South. This new location places the station close to the Guyton roundabout, providing easy response capabilities in all directions.”

Effingham County Fire Rescue’s Hodgeville Station, across from Belmont Glen on Hodgeville Road, took a step closer to opening as paving was conducted, the department announced on Facebook Jan. 17.

Chief Clint Hodges said the station will be a key addition for the Hodgeville community as some areas will see their ISO rating drop from 10 to 3, which will produce a major insurance cost savings in addition to providing a much-improved response time to the entire community.

Hodges is eyeing a move-in date in late March.

The Grand Junction Fire Department officially opened the city’s seventh fire station Monday, Fire Station 8, also known as “Two Pony Station,” gjsentinel.com reported.

The 10,500-square-foot station, located at 441 31 Road, gets its name from two ponies, named Cookies and Cream, whose owners sold the land to Grand Junction, and who still live nearby, the report said.

Station 8 is the second of three fire stations funded by 2019’s First Responder Tax, the report said. Station 6, which opened in 2020, was the first.

A Grand Junction fire official said the construction came in on time and under budget. FCI Constructors broke ground on the $6 million project in April 2022, the report said.

The station will serve an area of about 5,000 homes and 181 business parcels across six square miles, with a population of about 13,000-15,000, the report said. The city anticipates a call volume of about 2,500 calls a year in an area that is also served in part by the Grand Junction Rural Fire Protection District and Clifton Fire Protection District.