Feds Give N.Y. Department $6.4M to Build New Station

June 12, 2015
Schoharie's Niagara Engine Company 6 was destroyed in 2011 by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has decided to award the town of Schoharie's Niagara Engine Company 6 an additional $6.4 million to rebuild the firehouse that was destroyed by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011, officials announced Thursday.

The fire company has been working out of temporary facility since the flooding unleashed by the hurricane swamped the building, which was built on a flood plain in the 1950s.

The federal agency is requiring that the fire company rebuild on higher ground, outside of the flood plain.The fire company had received $337,000 for initial architecture and engineering work.

“The brave men and women of Niagara Engine Company No. 6 voluntarily put their lives on the line to protect Schoharie County residents from dangerous fires," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in a media release.  He, along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, urged FEMA to release the payment. "And for far too long, they were working out of a temporary facility because FEMA put up bureaucratic red tape that prevented them from building a new fire house.”

John Wolfe, chairman of the Schoharie County Fire Department Building Committee, said, "Schoharie County and Niagara Engine Company No. 6 are very grateful for Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand’s strong and long-standing support for the relocation of our destroyed fire house. Moving the firehouse out of the flood plain will help ensure that Niagara Engine Company 6 will continue to provide the highest level of emergency services that the Town and Village of Schoharie have come to expect.”

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©2015 The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.)

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