WV Firefighter Says Station is 'Falling Down Junk'

RIDGELEY, W.Va. — After two years and numerous attempts, funding still hasn’t been found to tear down the old Ridgeley High School on Potomac Street to build a new fire and police station.

“That fire station is nothing to look at ... it’s falling down junk,” said Robbie Pollock, president of the fire department. “When we first acquired the fire station (in 2010) we had to get a $17,000 emergency grant because the whole back wall of the fire station was missing.”

The fire company has tried to obtain Homeland Security and Brownfields grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and written numerous letters to elected officials to no avail.

“With the budget the way it is and the governor threatening to shut things down, it’s not going to go anywhere right now,” said Lynn Carr, the town’s mayor and vice president of the fire department.

A year and half ago, officials sought estimates to tear down the former school. At that time, it would have cost $157,000 because of asbestos in the building.

The fire company has done what it can to make improvements to the station, including painting the ceiling, installing a new shower, replacing lights in the truck bay at a cost of $17,000, replacing outside lighting and upgrading the main breaker box. In 2010, the meeting room and one office was replaced at a cost of $17,000.

“Of course there is no money for it. It comes out of our budget,” Carr said.

There are still issues with the building that are minor compared to what they use to be, Carr said.

“The building structurally scares me, the cracks in the walls and stuff like that,” Pollock said.

The building was constructed in the 1940s.

Follow staff writer Elaine Blaisdell on Twitter @eblaisdell.

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