The township has received about $200,000 for fire equipment and gear over the last 15 years through the Assistance to Firefighters federal grant program. But the department’s January 2016 application and award was by far the biggest, and marks the first time the department was approved to purchase a new vehicle, he said.

“I’m absolutely pleased,” he said Wednesday. “These grants do have strict guidelines and they’re very competitive. ... It’s a lengthy process, but it will pay off.”

The township put up a little more than $18,000 to round out the $366,000 used to purchase the

A 1949 Mack fire truck, Engine 9 (NOT the train from the song) worked in Milwaukee area firehouses for more than three decades – into the 1970s – and now it has been returned to its former glory and will reside at the society's museum, 1615 W. Oklahoma Ave.

"We got Engine 9 about three years ago," says former firefighter and MFHS treasurer and newsletter editor Randy Leach. "We got it from Paul Conway, who is a former assistant chief. He donated it."

In the petition, Ferguson wrote that the city is “taking a wrecking ball” to the station after a “cursory review” that didn’t seriously consider alternatives like other sites or renovating and expanding the existing station. The petition calls on the Roanoke City Council to reconsider the demolition and come up with two alternatives.

Roanoke Fire Chief David Hoback called those claims “false,” and said the decision to replace the station was arrived at following a study by Roanoke’s Spectrum Design that found no other viable sites in the area that would allow necessary response times. The building itself, built in the 1920s, isn’t adequate for modern equipment and a staff of both men and women, he said.

A remediation assessment found that the age of the building, the way it was constructed and a lack of air handling systems contributed to the mold growth. The spokesman says the assessment also found that extensive renovations would be necessary to prevent the problem from recurring.

The city and fire department are expected to present a renovation proposal in the middle of next month. The building remains occupied.