Madison Nantz
The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
(TNS)
The Laurel County Fire Department has begun to seek funding for a third station after being gifted a parcel of land for the building.
The London-Laurel Economic Development Authority gifted the land to the LCFD last December.
“The Laurel County Fire Department had been promised a location nearby for a small area to store a fire truck to serve the Greer Park and Airpark as well as the Sublimity Community and that fell through,” said LLEDA Executive Director Paula Thompson. “The addition of this fire station will help with ISO rating, insurance premiums, and response time. The authority saw the value of this and proudly partnered with LCFD to offer a remaining sliver of property behind FedEx.”
Now, the LCFD seeks grant funding to assist them in building the new station. The department wants the station in order to properly serve those in the area.
“This will ensure that all homes and businesses are well within the required five-mile radius for the insurance requirement,” said Chantz McPeek, LCFD chairman and volunteer firefighter. “Our board of directors have agreed to create a financial plan to ensure this new station is completed in a timely manner.”
McPeek shared that, while response times have “not been impacted drastically,” they could be “without a good plan moving forward.”
The department already has firefighters who live nearby to service the area, but they have to drive to a distant station to get a firetruck rather than having one nearby. It also has a firetruck which can be housed in the station.
According to LCFD, the funding to build a station is all that is needed for this project, which McPeek reiterated is in an early stage.
“LCFD was created in 1962. We’ve come a long way since that time and the community has grown tremendously,” said McPeek. “We are thankful to the industrial board for their generous donation, as well as the fiscal court for their continued support in funding, as well as our citizens within our district who donate to us annually.
“We look forward to serving our constituents more efficiently in this new endeavor,” McPeek concluded.
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