The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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March 16, 2010

Beaver VFD officials seek emergency county funds

Deputy chief: ‘Mother Nature, she sure shot it to us this time'

By Michelle James Register-Herald Reporter

BECKLEY — Beaver Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Shannon asked the Raleigh County Commission Tuesday for emergency money in the wake of weekend flooding that roared through the region.

“Mother Nature, she sure shot it to us this time,” Shannon said.

Shannon told the commission that the fire department, at the peak of the flooding, had 3 feet of water inside.

As a result, Shannon said, the department was filled with debris, mud and raw sewage.

The department’s heaters were ruined by the water and Shannon said kerosene and blow heaters are now being used to heat the building.

Shannon said the department is spread thin as the majority of the firefighters assist in the search for Donald Adkins, the Glasgow firefighter who has been missing since he was swept away during a swift water rescue early Saturday morning.

The remaining firefighters, he said, are working to clean up the mess left inside the building.

Shannon told the commission that he would not be asking for money if the rough winter weather had not deprived the department of much depended on bingo and raffle revenue.

That loss, coupled with unexpected flooding expenses, Shannon said, have left the department strapped.

“We’ve been hit hard,” Shannon said. “We’ve been hit hard bad.”

The fire department carries a $1 million insurance policy, but Shannon said the adjuster has not visited so he does not yet know what will become of the building.

There is a substation on Grandview Road, but Shannon told the commission that, in its current state, it is not large enough to house the entire operation.

President John Humphrey told Shannon the commission would look into the request to see what assistance it could provide.

“Keep your head up, Jimmy,” commissioner John Aliff said.

- - -

In other business, the commission:

n Approved a $25,000 grant for the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA. That money, according to Y CEO Jim Gilchrist, will be used for renovations on the pool area.

n Approved drawdowns for the Women’s Resource Center, the emergency shelter grant and homeland security.

n Accepted two new Raleigh County Sheriff’s auxiliary deputies, Frank Newman and Randy Kountz and records clerk Mary Ann Ruth.

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com

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