OHIO COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF)– After years of building, the Bethlehem Fire Department has finally opened its doors to their new facility.
The department now stands on Chapel Road and on Saturday they held their grand opening for the community.
Current and retired firefighters attended the ceremony, alongside family and community members.
The Boy Scouts raised the American flag and led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chief Jacob Howard says this is an exciting day and they wanted to share it with the people who made it possible.
It’s going to give us a home long into the future. As we’ve gotten busier, we outgrew the old station years ago. We were down to inches, getting the trucks and ambulances in and out.
So, we have a lot more room and are able to kind of function a lot better here. A lot of people don’t realize what the equipment costs and stuff, and it’s astronomical sometimes. So, we want to just make everybody aware of what the fire department costs and what equipment costs.
Chief Jacob Howard, Bethlehem Fire Department
A unique addition to the open house was that they labelled the prices of all the equipment.
Chief Howard says they wanted to be transparent and show the value of each piece of the facility.
He says every single hose, nob, and wheel helps them protect the people.
They ended the ceremony with the sounding of their alarm and unlatched a fire hose to commemorate the start of a new beginning.