Aaron Kirchoff
Greensburg Daily News, Ind.
(TNS)
Jul. 18—”It’s huge,” Trustee Rachel Connall Mirick said when asked what the new Adams Township Volunteer Fire Department station meant to the township.
“We’re a pretty big township, so we really are in need, with the size of the township, to have two active fire departments,” Mirick added.
Construction has begun on the new station at 4504 North U.S. Highway 421, which should be complete by the end of the year. The project was revived over the past year after Mirick took office.
The late Charlie Bill Connall, Mirick’s father who served as trustee for more than a decade until his death in 2019, assisted in securing land for the station. Mirick estimated that it’s taken six to seven years from when the station was first planned to construction.
“Then the prior administration stopped funding the fire department and wanted to go in a different direction,” Mirick said.
When Mirick took office in January 2023, one of her goals was to bring her late father’s vision to fruition. She deeded the property to the department in April 2024 and attended some TIF board meetings as a show of support.
“The TIF board was, thankfully, still on track,” she said, with moving forward on using $750,000 that had previously been set aside for the ATVFD’s new station.
The station’s layout is similar to the Burney Volunteer Fire Department’s layout. It will have three drive-through engine bays, community space, office space and a kitchen.
Although construction of the station is underway, the department will need equipment once it’s complete. According to Somer Hart, ATFVD board secretary, there are plans to host a truck drag fundraiser this fall, though a date hasn’t been set yet. Some items the ATVFD will need include:
- First-aid kits for EMTs
- Generator
- Firefighting gear
- Furniture; especially tables
Hart and Mirick both indicated that the department is working with local businesses to build the station, including L.K. Construction, Stier Heating & Cooling, K & B Dirtworx, Remmler Well Drilling, Wessler Excavating, Dena Anderson with Glacier Soil Testing, Tree City Metal Sales, Decatur County REMC, Jim Fritsch with Fritcsh Architect and Jamie Brown Port-O-Let Sanitation.
Hart shared that she’s also working to move ATVFD forward on acquiring a used fire truck they can use. Those interested in donating funds or furniture can contact the department at 812-593-9747 or email atvfd150@gmail.com.
Contact Aaron Kirchoff at aaron.kirchoff@greensburgdailynews.com
___
(c)2024 the Greensburg Daily News (Greensburg, Ind.)
Visit the Greensburg Daily News (Greensburg, Ind.) at www.greensburgdailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
