pStory taken from a fcksavedurlhttpnewsandtribune.comlocalx136110137Renovated-Lafayette-fire-department-to-be-on-display-Saturday hrefhttpnewsandtribune.comlocalx136110137Renovated-Lafayette-fire-department-to-be-on-display-SaturdayNewsandtribune.comabrppltfont size5gtstrong1.9 million paid for renovations new equipmentltfontgtstrongppspan classauthor vcardspan classstorycredit fnBy CHRIS MORRISspanspanspan classauthor vcardspan classstorycredit fnspanspan span classauthor vcardspan classstorycredit fnbrspanspanspan classsource-org vcard storysourcea stylecolor000 hrefhttpnewsandtribune.com fcksavedurlhttpnewsandtribune.comchris.morrisnewsandtribune.comaspanspan classauthor vcardspan classstorycredit fnspanspanbrppstrongFLOYDS KNOBSstrong For years firefighters with the Lafayette Township Fire Department had to roll hoses up outdoors no matter the temperature because the fire station was too small.brbrIt was way too small to accommodate a modern firefighting unit said LTFD Chief Jeremy Klein. Sleeping accommodations were horrendous restrooms were not designed for a live-in environment there were no meeting rooms and equipment was out-of-date.brbrHowever thanks to a 1.9 million bond that was approved by the Floyd County Council in 2011 all of those problems have been rectified.brbrThe roof of the fire house at 4002 Scottsville Road has been raised from 12 feet to 14 sleeping quarters have been expanded and officers now have offices and no longer have to share desks or stumble over one another. There are also two new fire trucks and three new response vehicles.brbrIts great Klein who has been chief since 2006 said of the upgrades. The original building was built back in the 1970s and it needed upgrades. We added male and female bunk rooms and now have a bigger meeting room. We get a lot of requests from Boys Scouts to have meetings at the station and then take tours afterward. We want people to utilize the fire station.brbrKlein hopes those in the Lafayette fire district and other Floyd County residents will visit the fire station from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday for an open house. There will be hot dogs to eat as well as tours of the fire headquarters.brbrstrongTAXING DECISIONstrongbrbrAfter the bonds were originally passed in 2011 the Floyd County Council held a special meeting later in the year to consider whether or not to rescind the vote after some Floyds Knobs residents said they were not properly informed of public hearings to discuss the plan and the property tax increase. However the approval was eventually upheld allowing the Lafayette Fire District to go ahead with the renovations.brbrThe process was done in a legal way but personally I would have liked to have seen some other measures taken said Floyd County Councilman Brad Striegel. I would have liked to have seen a town hall meeting. The public wants to be heard and have questions answered.brbrResidents of Lafayette Township saw their property taxes increase by 9.88 a year for a house valued at 100000 and 29.48 a year for a 200000 house to pay for the work. However County Councilwoman Dana Fendley said all of the improvements made sense when they were introduced last year and still make sense today.brbrThat fire station was not suitable for full-time firefighters she said. They needed to make improvements. Its a minimal increase and look what they got.brbrWork began on the improvements in November of 2011 and Klein said they are 99 percent complete. The Lafayette Fire District has 11 full-time firefighters and 22 volunteers.brbrWhen that firehouse was built on Scottsville Road it was built to house volunteer firefighters only. It was not meant for full-time firefighters Striegel said. There are male and female firefighters and there were no separate living quarters. The firehouse and equipment needed upgrades.brbrKlein said there are volunteers who live in the area who respond from home and there are volunteers who may live outside the area who are on standby or cover the fire station when others are out on call. Instead of sleeping in a recliner there is now room for those volunteers to stay overnight if needed.brbrThe new equipment upgrades and trucks have already improved the districts fire rating by the Insurance Services Office according to Klein. The area the fire district protects 26.6 square miles has seen tremendous growth in the past decade which requires modern fire equipment Klein said.brbrWe got a lot of stuff out of it Klein said of the 1.9 million bond.brbrKlein said you can see the growth each year while firefighters collect for the Crusade for Children. This year Lafayette collected a record 74000.brbrIts really grown out here he said.ppbrp
