Jasper County has been granted a $1.3 million loan for its planned Marsh Cove fire station from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The money will be used to construct the fire-rescue station and apparatus bays. The building will be 5,604 square feet, including 2,055 square feet of living quarters for personnel. Officials said the location is ideal for immediate response north and south on S.C. 462.
"The new station will be located at the corner of S.C. 462 and Marsh Cove Road on approximately 2 acres of land that was donated to Jasper County," Jasper County Fire-Rescue Chief Frank Edwards said. "The construction of this new station is very important, and we are excited about it."
Edwards said residents in the area do not currently have a fire rescue station within 5 miles of them. He said that increases response times for medical and fire calls, as well as home fire insurance costs.
"This new station will greatly improve this emergency response time and improve their homeowner fire insurance ratings," Edwards said.
Edwards said the new station is expected to house a fire pumper and tanker. He said the county recently purchased a ladder truck it also intends to house there.
"The intent of housing the ladder truck there is that it would be able to respond into Ridgeland, or go to Point South or Cherry Point for structure fires," he said. "There will be one assigned paid firefighter at the station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and supplemented with volunteer personnel."
Edwards said there is not an expected completion date for the station and construction has not started.
"We are currently working through the administrative requirements for the USDA loan," he said. "The design for the station is complete, so once the administrative requirements are completed, we should be ready to put the station out for bid pretty quickly."
USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald "DJ" LaVoy recently announced the department is investing $139 million in 56 projects to improve community facilities and provide essential services for 3.3 million rural residents in 23 states. This includes the project in Jasper County.
"Modern, accessible and reliable community infrastructure, public safety facilities, schools and health facilities are essential components to strong and prosperous communities," LaVoy said. "Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary (Sonny) Perdue, USDA is committed to being a strong partner in building and modernizing these facilities in rural America, because we believe that when rural America thrives, all of America thrives."
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, go to www.rd.usda.gov/sc.
———
©2019 Bluffton Today, S.C.
Visit Bluffton Today, S.C. at www.blufftontoday.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
