Garrison celebrates new Fire Station

The volunteer firefighters in this Benton County community of 370 people didn't attend to their own damaged homes after a windstorm ripped through the town nearly a year ago.

Instead, they came to the Fire Station on which their community relied.

“One thing that was pretty significant - every single member had damage to their home,” said Fire Chief Steve Meyer. “But they put that aside because of their sense of duty.”

Garrison's 17-year-old Emergency Services Building was destroyed in the storm July 11 that saw gusts of more than 130 mph. Siding lay on top of trucks and rubble was strewn throughout the vicinity. But, as Meyer said, the work of the town's firefighters and first responders doesn't stop for a devastating storm.

In the days following the disaster, a house caught fire in the area and crews here were forced to use a truck with a caved roof and flopping mirrors to put out the blaze.

“It was quite the ordeal, but I don't remember a cross word from anyone,” said Meyer, who added the only person to leave the department during the trying times did so through normal retirement.

Without a base, the Fire Department's trucks were housed in a shed a mile away. Firefighters stored their gear in their homes. Meyer said the crew dealt with around 10 emergencies in its time without a structure.

It took months for officials to move the firetrucks and equipment back into their repaired facility.

Saturday, area residents celebrated the building's return to full functionality. A slideshow in a meeting room recounted the storm's devastation and tattered flags from the facility hanged from the ceiling. Four perfectly-polished and repaired trucks sat in the garage. Firefighters' wives marveled at the new space, wearing T-shirts commemorating the department's resurgence since the storm.

“Every Garrison resident will tell you it was a struggle,” Shirley Meyer, the chief's mother and a 50-year resident of the town, said of the disaster. “I don't think there was anyone who wasn't affected. It was heartbreaking in so many ways.”

Steve Meyer said damage from the storm reached nearly $500,000. Repairs on the trucks cost $50,000 alone. The building is now around 7,000 square feet and the department's various awards dot walls and counters around the entire space.

But the 25 firefighters and 12 emergency medical service personnel here said they are now relieved to be returning to normal.

“I'm excited to be back,” said Vanessa Abrams, an Emergency Management Services staff member in Garrison.

For Meyer, the repaired Emergency Services Building in Garrison has a greater significance.

“The last thing left in a lot of small communities is the Fire Department,” he said. “It's the last thing left the community has to identify with. To have a good volunteer Fire Department is one of the last things they can say is theirs.”