Welcome Party at Station 2

2/21/2004

The following article was printed in the February 26 issue of The Brunswick Beacon. It is reprinted with permission.

Hundreds get sneak preview of new Calabash fire house

By Laura Lewis
Staff Writer

Area residents were treated to a sneak preview Feb. 21 of Calabash Volunteer Fire Department No. 2, which is about to launch into full operation.

A crowd of about 200 turned out for the combination welcome party, fund-raiser and open house festivities at the new facility on No. 5 Schoolhouse Road behind Brunswick Plantation.

"We're welcoming the department," said Lee Weddig of the Brunswick Plantation Homeowners Association. "It's nice to have the station at your back door."

Amid the festive beach music and barbecue buffet, residents toured the new $225,000, 4,800-square-foot satellite facility, which should be ready to open around March 1, Calabash Fire Department Chief Karl Bennett said.

"We've got some more landscaping work to do out there, and sealing the concrete floor just before we move in," he said.

The party reaped a grand total of $3,425 in donations from different sources. Contributions came from everywhere from a bingo group to proceeds from a New Year's Eve party, Weddig said.

Someone also donated a computer for use at the station, and the department gained four new members.

The newly built station stands on property donated by Caw Caw Land Development, which built Brunswick Plantation. It contains four bays for apparatus, a living area with TV, two bunks and dining space, an office, restrooms and storage area including one large storage room upstairs.

The station will be equipped with a standby generator in case of power failure.

Bennett presented a plaque to Jennings Edge, president of the fire department board and "the mastermind behind getting this done," Weddig said. "He worked at getting the station built for the last couple of years, and we felt it should be dedicated in his name."

Brunswick County commissioners Phil Norris and Bill Sue, along with county emergency management director Randy Thompson and county EMS director Brian Watts, were among other local VIPs at the event.

Last month, the department received a $90,000 USDA Rural Development loan for a new fire truck for the new station.