MONTPELIER, Iowa (AP) -- The Muscatine County town of Montpelier now has its first fire hydrant - located in front of the new fire station being constructed by volunteer labor.
''I promised the guys a new building about two years,'' said Jeff Hicks who has been fire chief for 12 years.
It took longer than he hoped, but the new station is beginning to take shape in a modern-day version of a barn-raising, with volunteers, donors and corporate neighbor Ipsco Steel Inc. pitching in.
Ipsco, which has operated its steel plant in Montpelier since 1997, has donated $50,000 to the all-volunteer fire department for its $225,000 capital campaign, giving the first of $10,000 annual checks on Thursday.
The new station, which measures 60-by-90 feet, replaces a 40-by-60-foot structure on the same site along Iowa 22 that was demolished last summer. Construction began in September.
Firefighters now will have space for their four fire trucks and training room, kitchen, office space and a spacious second-floor storage area.
''The previous station was so small that whenever a call came in, the first firefighter to arrive would have to pull out the fire trucks from the station to give the others room to get on their gear,'' Hicks said.
Both Hicks and Assistant Chief Scott Miller were using their homes to store extra gear for the 20-member volunteer department.
Hicks said the department has grown from answering 35 fire calls a year 12 years ago to a record 150 fire and EMS calls in 2001.
''Now we average about 120 calls,'' he said.
Hicks said the project also received financial boosts from HNI Corp., Carver Foundation and GPC, all of Muscatine. Other area businesses provided in-kind donations or discounts on materials and labor.
The fire department borrowed $100,000 for the project.
The building is valued at least $325,000 if all the firefighters free labor is accounted for, he said, adding that firefighters and other volunteers are completing all the inside finish work.
Information from: Quad-City Times
