By Dan Linehan
On Feb. 28, Lewisville’s fire hall was damaged in a fire that destroyed a cabinetry business next door owned by Denny Jahnz, also the mayor and a volunteer firefighter.
On May 20, three more buildings were damaged in what authorities later called an arson.
The volunteer fire department didn’t fight these blazes alone, but lacked some equipment that might have helped. One problem: They don’t have enough space to store it. The fire hall is too small.
On the other side of Watonwan County, Darfur’s fire hall is more like a garage, really.
Water leaks through the roof and there’s mold growing on the walls and ceiling.
“It’s ridiculous to even think that it could be a fire hall anymore,” Mayor John Schumann said.
Both small towns are receiving federal stimulus money — roughly one part grant to four parts loan — to build new fire halls. The funding is being routed through the state rural development office, headed by Colleen Landkamer, a Mankato resident and former Blue Earth County commissioner.
“People that live and work in rural communities should be able to count on having fire and rescue services that meet modern standards,” she said in a news release.
Small towns and rural areas generally can’t afford full-time employees, so they rely on volunteers to get the job done. These small departments generally service their towns and the rural areas around them, in addition to aiding nearby cities during major fires.
These small local governments were spared the brunt of state aid cuts but still have trouble paying six-figure bills for new fire halls and equipment.
“It’s a very hard time to spend extra money,” said Dave Ganfield, secretary of the Minnesota State Volunteer Firefighters Association.
Federal money has helped these small departments to buy equipment, but the federal government recently rolled out a program specifically for fire halls. That program is run by FEMA and is totally separate from the grants and loans Darfur and Lewisville received.
Truman has applied for the FEMA loans, but Fire Chief Brian Nickerson is worried his City Council isn’t willing to incur the debt.
He said the council is being over-cautious about its budget.
“You have to have some vision for the future,” he said. ... “City councils do not realize what their fire departments do for them.”
Back in Lewisville, Jahnz said the city is evaluating sites to build a new fire hall with a $75,000 grant and $260,000 in low-interest loans from the agriculture department.
The new building will have space to store a tanker truck that can hold 3,000 gallons of water. The department owns three pumper trucks that each can hold only 750 gallons. It’s pretty intuitive: The more water you put on the fire, the faster it goes out.
Likewise, Darfur’s fire hall has problems. A combination of a leaky roof and mold requires the kind of repairs that drove the town to plan on a new site. They might bid as early as November, but Schumann said the city is leaning toward early next year.
They’re slated to receive a $200,000 loan and a $44,000 grant.
Morale is another issue facing volunteer firefighters.
A new fire hall is a nice reward for long-serving volunteers, said Truman’s Nickerson.
Ganfield, with the state association, agreed.
“They certainly don’t want to get there and have unsafe equipment and unsafe buildings,” he said.
