Fire station renovations an ongoing endeavor

The room previously sported floor to ceiling glass windows all the way around. When it came time for some of the glass to be repaired, the department discovered that replacing the large window panes would be prohibitively expensive and they opted to install the full walls and ordinary single hung windows that are in there now, said Nash.

Additionally, according to Nash, the space wasn’t very usable for the department.

“It was really just a spot to house an antique fire truck,” said Nash. That fire truck has recently been returned to the City of Salem and is no longer the fire department’s property.

Nash said that since the renovation, the space has been much more conducive for training and the Dent County Election Authority said that the space was much better for operating elections as well.

“One of the biggest compliments we’ve gotten is that it doesn’t look like a car dealership anymore, it looks like a fire station,” said Nash.

Volunteer firefighters did the bulk of the renovations, Nash told The Salem News.

The department is also in the process of doing something similar with the dispatch room, which has similarly large windows, after which the fire department will turn its attention back to making more progress on an equipment room and living quarters as time and money allows, said Nash.

In recent years, the building has also gotten a new roof, and new bay doors and a face lift in the form of a new paint job.

Nash told The Salem News that he believes that the needs of the community will ultimately lead to full-time firemen being hired on—eventually, when that time comes, Nash said that he hopes to have a facility that can accommodate them. Which, according to Nash, is why they have been working so hard to get everything done a little at a time.

Along with renovations to the fire department, Nash has been working on adjusting the department’s command structure and policies and procedure with the future in mind.

“We’ve tried to do as much of it as we can on our own,” said Nash, referencing the renovations, though some of it has had to be done by bidding out projects to contractors.