December 7, 2002

WRT fire station 52 ready for repairs

        Work will begin by the end of the year to patch White River Township’s northernmost fire station.  Station 52 at Fairview Road and State Road 135 has been sitting empty since the Sept. 20 tornado shifted the building, pulled out roof rafters, toppled an antenna tower and ripped bricks away from the building. The station’s office, kitchen, truck bay and bunkroom were damaged.  The only piece of firefighting equipment that was damaged was a taillight on an aerial truck.  Firefighters moved in with Greenwood firefighters operating out of one of the city’s stations on Fry Road.  White River Township Fire Chief Mike Tibbetts called the city’s offer a godsend.  Firefighters from the two departments have been living and training together, Tibbetts said. The arrangement has allowed the firefighters to get to know each other more than they do just by responding together at major incidents, Tibbetts said.  Still, Tibbetts and residents living near Station 52 are anxious for the firefighters to get back into the firehouse.  Cost to repair the building is estimated at $210,000.  Insurance will pay the expense after the Federal Emergency Management Agency pays the insurance deductible.  At first, fire department officials had thought the damage was so severe that FEMA would pay for the building to be razed and rebuilt.  After inspections, they learned that FEMA would only pay of the building had incurred just $60,000 more in damages.  Tibbetts originally had hoped to make the station, which was built in 1991, even stronger than it was before the storm hit.  Two engineers told him that reinforcing the rafters on the existing building would be more trouble that it was worth.  No timetable has been set for when the repairs might be finished.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

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