|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Volunteers move into new home
Purcellville's best and bravest are at home in the new Purcellville Safety Center at the corner of North Maple Ave. and Hirst Road.
They like it.
'This has nothing to do with how good we are as firefighters,” said Fire Chief Bob Dryden. “But the extra space gives us room to train and drill. We are looking forward to attracting new members, and really looking forward to working with the Rescue Squad. We are still separate organizations, but we can thrive off each other.”
Bob Ritchie, president of the Purcellville Volunteer Rescue Squad, agreed. The rescue volunteers of Company 14 – the only all-volunteer company remaining in the county – answer more calls for help from U.S. 15 to the Clarke County border than any other company, Ritchie said.
Fire and rescue volunteers have been separate units for 40 years, Ritchie said, and will continue, in their new shared home, to be separate entities.
But “the leadership of both departments are committed to a partnership, and this will foster that relationship,” Ritchie said.
Like Dryden, he welcomes the added space and expects to attract more volunteers.
The new Purcellville Safety Center, built by the county for $10.6 million, houses the two companies in a 43,000 square foot facility. The fire wing faces on Hirst Road. The rescue wing is on North Maple, and the companies share the the core facility – kitchen, day room, training room, gym with exercise equipment and laundry areas. Fire's two class A tankers, its 102-foot long tower ladder truck, brush truck and brush jeep and general use vehicle all fit in the high ceilinged, well ventilated bay at one time.
In the rescue bay, Ritchie's crew can park its two advanced life support vehicles (ambulances), the advanced life support response vehicle and the basic life support truck.
Best of all, women on both squads will now have their own bunk room for overnight shifts.
You must be logged in to post a comment.