11-Sep-2019 – Category 5 Hurricane Michael devastated parts of the Florida panhandle on October 10, 2018. Mossy Pond Volunteer Fire Department in rural Calhoun County lost their fire station during the storm, then lost gear and tools in the aftermath due to looters.
According to NBCnews.com, Mossy Pond VFD members are parking fire engines and brush trucks in their yards since they have no place to store their apparatus.
Most of the eight members of the all-volunteer fire department balance full-time jobs and families. The lack of a firehouse complicates how they coordinate responding to medical calls, car accidents and wildfires in a part of Calhoun County where the closest ambulance and hospital is a 25 minutes away.
MPVFD says the insurance claim may fund approximately a third of the costs of a new fire station, while the local community is holding various fundraisers and Fire Chief is working with county, state, federal authorities for funding. But after such a massive hurricane, funding for a rural firehouse is hard to find.
USFRA is headquartered in Bay County Florida (next to Calhoun County) and was also impacted by the hurricane, but hopes to inspire others to help.
Recently USFRA donated to MPVFD's station rebuilding fund and is encouraging others to join us in helping them recover. If you’d like to contribute funds, gear or tools to MPVFD, please contact USFRA or Mossy Pond Volunteer Fire Dept .
