Rural fire protection stands tall

A half-century ago Morgan County’s rural residents had little or no fire protection. If a house fire occurred, the best that could be hoped for was the late arrival of a fire truck from Hartselle or Decatur with a limited supply of water. Thanks to rural water distribution systems with fire hydrants and the development of volunteer fire departments from one end of the county to the other that’s no longer a problem.

Most of the county’s volunteer fire stations are new structures that are fully equipped and staffed to handle any fire or medical emergency.

A good example is Priceville’s newly renovated main station located on North Bethel Road. It provides drive-through bays for four engine companies and its newest addition is a 2011state-of-the-art fire engine that arrived three weeks ago. Also available are a rapid response vehicle and a vehicle that is designed and equipped to fight brush fires.

The station’s amenities include a training/meeting room with overhead projector, a firefighter’s lounge with kitchen, modern sleeping quarters, three offices and a conference room.

The department is manned by 40 volunteers with Town Councilman Charles Black serving as fire chief.

This and other rural fire departments are engaged in ongoing training and improvement programs. Somerville Area Volunteer Emergency Service (S.A.V.E.S) opened a new and enlarged station on Cut-Off Road three years ago. Cotaco purchased new vehicles for its No. 1 station on Highway 36 last year and is now raising money to build a community storm shelter underneath the building.

Thanks to all of our rural volunteer firefighters.