The Greenfield & District Volunteer Fire Department needs our help

GMLLOA Info
Sep 29
2 min read

As many of you know, the fire protection services and emergency first responder medical services that our GMLLOA South Shore community relies are provided by the many volunteers of the Greenfield & District Volunteer Fire Department. With increasing wildfires caused by climate change, we need to support these volunteers more than ever before.

Peter Bessey and Ron Wyer, with support from Chief Moyal Conrad, are Co-Chairing a major campaign to raise $1,275,000 for two critical initiatives:

Phase 1: Rebuilding the truck bays (this phase is currently in progress)

Today’s standard firetrucks are longer than the trucks in our current fleet and won’t fit in our bays. A standard truck is on average $50,000 cheaper than a smaller, custom-built truck. In addition to accommodating the larger trucks, renovating our truck bays will also address the following needs:

Provide a dedicated vehicle bay for first responders, resulting in quicker reaction times for medical first responder calls.
Space so we can buy off the shelf trucks instead of 100% special order.
Larger bays mean quicker purchase times for trucks.
Standardizing water capacity on our trucks.
Standardizing trucks between fire departments
Space for equipment and training.
Safety around trucks for maintenance and cleaning
Seasonal storage of equipment in a heated space
Security of trucks and equipment

The cost of renovating the bays is estimated at $175,000.

Phase 2: Fully renovating the firehall and kitchen facilities

Renovations are also required to the main hall for the following reasons:

Making the hall a true emergency center for servicing the community in the event of natural disasters such as wildfires, flooding, etc.
The growing community requires ever increasing support resources. A renovated hall will significantly improve our fundraising capacity.
Updated bathroom facilities that are fully accessible to those with disabilities
More bathroom stalls and urinals to meet larger crowd needs
Two shower rooms, one of which is accessible to disabled persons
Front ramp area and auto exterior doors for accessibility
Larger entryway to reduce time spent by patrons waiting in line ups to enter the hall
Remodeled kitchen, enhancing food safety and providing more cold storage for events.
Larger capacity kitchen for emergencies and fundraising
More efficient equipment and lighting
Updated sewer system
In house wash system for fire equipment after messy calls for user health safety