I have been covering the discussions of the Owen-Withee-Curtiss Fire & EMS District about what to do about a fire station for awhile now. The village of Curtiss keeps raising the rent on the Curtiss Fire Station and other than housing some equipment, the District has nothing to show for it. They don’t have any equity in the building, but they pay rent, utilities, and some maintenance. It is on the edge of the District and their firefighters and EMTs don’t live there.
The fire station in Owen is too small, outdated, not really up to code and landlocked. But in my opinion, the biggest issue is being next to the railroad tracks. If there is a train derailment in that area and anything is leaking, they aren’t going to be able to access their equipment. Maybe one truck and an ambulance if Travis and Bob happen to be working at the time and can get their masks on fast enough.
Another issue with the current location is getting out of town if it isn’t a local call. The site they are looking to build on is on the east edge of the city and would give them easy access to Highway 29, resulting in quicker response times in some cases.
Fire trucks are getting bigger. Regulations are getting stricter, even for small rural volunteer departments. Change is going to happen. We can support it or we can be run over by it. Fire departments, police departments, and public works are expensive, but they are necessary.
If it is your house burning down or you having a heart attack, you expect fire & EMS to respond when you call. If you are in an accident, sexually assaulted, or threatened in some way, you expect the police to respond when you call. And no one likes potholes in the streets or water gushing from everywhere. You expect public works to respond when you call.
Now our volunteers on the fire department and EMS need you to respond. They have been considering possibilities on a new fire station or whether to purchase the Curtiss station for at least three years. They haven’t jumped into anything and have assessed a myriad of possible outcomes. If they could have gotten a grant to fund a new building at 100%, that would have been a win-win situation for everyone. But apparently that is not to be.
The community has supported them in the past by attending their fundraisers. That money usually goes to purchase needed equipment. Now the community needs to up that support. It is time to support the building of a new facility that will last the department as long as the one in Owen has, which has been quite a few years. If you are friendly with your legislators, encourage them to be supportive of this project and look for funding that might help, whether that be grant money or low interest loans. If you have ideas on where to find funding, let the District know. Otherwise just support their efforts to get funding, be that a grant or a loan.
They are always here for the community. The time has come for the community to be here for them.