Word recently was received that the service area had been awarded a $421,000 community development block grant from the state of Alaska to help construct the fire hall.
“It’s a matching grant and we have enough in our building fund to match it at this point,” Craig said, adding that the state and borough’s design requirements are being reviewed. “We were trying to get by with a bare bones design, but now we have enough money to build something they might be a little more proud of.”
Land for the station was purchased in 1998. It consists of two lots, totaling about four acres. Nikolaevsk’s first firefighter training class was held about the same time.
“We promised that if we could get some firefighters up there, we’d consider building a fire hall and having a firetruck there,” Craig said. “They came through with the class, so we put the firetruck out there, but we’re still waiting on the building.”
Currently, Engine 2, a 1977 Ford that can carry 750 gallons of water, is stored at Nikolaevsk’s water treatment plant. Once a permanent station is constructed, some equipment at the Anchor Point station will be assigned to Nikolaevsk. That will make space for the purchase of new equipment at Anchor Point for which grants have been received, but for which there has been no storage space. In addition, Nikolaevsk has received a federal grant for the purchase of a new ambulance.
“It’s kind of a big race to see which happens first — the fire hall or the ambulance,” Craig said. “We have a number of certified firefighters in Nikolaevsk. They’re not really active at this point, but once we have a facility to draw them, we hope to see that change.”
Construction of the fire station will mean an insurance break for residents within a 5-mile radius.
The Anchor Point Fire and Emergency Service Area currently has 23 certified firefighters, with about half of them trained as Emergency Medical Technicians. All of them are volunteers. They responded to 192 calls during 2005.
“In past years, that number has run as low as 150 and as high as 235,” Craig said of the responses.
A Firefighter 1 class recently began at the Anchor Point station. It runs through the end of January, and it is not too late to join, Craig said. Seven individuals just completed an ETT — Emergency Trauma Technician — training.
“We use ETT as an introduction, to get people excited and hooked on EMS, and they can go on ambulance runs as long as there’s an EMT to supervise. Also, we use it as a tool to get them interested in the firefighter class,” Craig said.
“A contract has been awarded to East Road Services to dig down to clay level, put in fill, put in a water line from the hydrant and drain pipe under the gravel,” Craig said. “It’s just a matter of (East Road Services) getting the equipment ready to go.”
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