News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Dekalb County Volunteer Fire Department is exploring locations in the Wolf Creek area to establish a new fire station.
Wolf Creek is located on Highway 141 five miles west of Silver Point. Fire Chief Donny Green said a new substation is needed to accommodate the increased population and to reduce response times.
“That is an area that we are geographically challenged, our response time is slower getting to that part of the county,” Green said. “We have had a lot of development occur over in that area in the last several years.”
The Dekalb County Commission appropriated $25,000 towards the development of the station in this year’s budget. Green said after a location is found, the next step is to start training volunteers to man the station.
“We have to have volunteers,” Green said. “That is when the community comes in. One of the things we like to do in the beginning phases is to get commitment of volunteers from the community and get them in our training program. Once the station is up and running, we hit the ground running with staff and volunteers.”
Green said depending on the budget situation of the future, he expects the county to continue to look for funding to help speed the process. The substation in the Four Season community took over six years to establish.
“We started setting aside money in our capital projects each year in our budget,” Green said. “Then, we looked at the land acquisition and hook ups to utilities. Then, we looked at the optimal location to make sure the Insurance Property Protection classification was good. You want to make sure you are maximizing your area of coverage. It is a long process.”
Green said a new pumper truck must be purchased to operate a new substation in the Wolf Creek community. Currently, the closest station to the community is the Temperance Hall station.
