By Dale Smith

dsmith@hometownnewsol.com

EDGEWATER - As firefighter Jason Haynes backed the fire truck into the bay, overhead clearance was a scant two or three inches.

"You can't stick your head out when backing up," Mr. Haynes joked.

That pretty much sums up their dilemma at Station 55 in Edgewater. The building is too small and outdated.

Enter Lt. Dan Ruth, career firefighter, paramedic and RN. The 16-year Edgewater veteran public servant wrote a grant in hopes of securing funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a new fire station.

On Oct. 2, Edgewater Fire Chief Steve Cousins got the word. FEMA was allotting $1.1 million in funds to construct their new building.

"We were absolutely thrilled," Chief Cousins said. "Dan [Lt. Ruth] deserves all the credit in getting this grant for us."

This isn't the first time Lt. Ruth wrote successful grants. Two years ago he secured a $200,000 grant from FEMA for a new water tanker and later, a five year, $961,000 grant to commit to firefighter staffing through FEMA's Safer Staffing Adequate Response program.

"This was seed money to get people employed," Lt. Ruth said.

But in the end Edgewater had to turn the grant down according to Chief Cousins, because the city was unable to commit to matching the expenses after the FEMA money had run out.

The first year fire chief said that nevertheless that [the grant] was a huge accomplishment by Lt. Ruth.

"We're actually getting tens of thousands of dollars in grant money every year because of Dan," Chief Cousins said.

A new station will be built on the same footprint as it now exists but will also incorporate two other building sites next door.

"The new station will be modeled after New Smyrna Beach's Station 52 but we'll adjust ours to meet our needs and budget," Chief Cousins said.

The current station is approximately 50 years old and when it was built the codes were different and the building didn't have room for all the amenities that are needed today, like a training room and sleeping quarters for both men and women.

In the existing fire station on the second floor there are four bunk beds and a large common room that also houses a kitchenette. Six worn recliners line one side of the room, all staring at a television screen that is ground zero for training by video.

"Our crowning achievement is this newly renovated bathroom," Lt. Ruth said, showing a pristine tiled floor, walls and shower area. "We really had to do this bathroom over."

Chief Cousins said that after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, building codes changed.

"We're not up to code today in many areas, such as our windows. If we get a hurricane we have to evacuate to the other fire station on the west side of the city. That building was built in 1998 and is up to code with the right windows."

Chief Cousins said the next step in the building process was to select a design firm. From there they will hire an engineering firm; after that, a groundbreaking.

"We've got a 36 month window of opportunity to get this done so I'm not worried about any timetable," Lt. Ruth said.

In order to save money on this project, Chief Cousins said they will use materials they already have in the old station, use city resources to do some of the work like irrigation and landscaping and take advantage of low labor costs currently available.

"We'll recycle as much as we can," the chief said. "It's important to us to be green. FEMA looks very favorably on recycling projects."

Chief Cousins said his staff has a lot of ideas when it comes to the design.

"This new building will give us larger living space, more office space, extra storage space, and more efficient energy systems," the chief said.

But perhaps the most important piece of the design will be larger bays for the trucks. There will be no more close calls either on top or on the side when backing trucks into the bays.

"We actually had to alter the apparatus on our trucks in order to get them inside the bays," Chief Cousins said. "The new trucks today are much larger so the new station will be designed with that in mind."

Edgewater employs 27 firefighters, including the fire marshal and fire captain and utilizes 12 volunteer firefighters and another half dozen support staff members.