Modernizing the Beulah Fire Service Part II

The Board of County Commissioners and the Beulah Volunteer Fighters, Inc., are close to reaching a deal for the purchase of the Beulah fire station and property--which is step one in a multi-year plan to modernize the Beulah Fire Service

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously last Thursday to pay the Beulah Volunteer Firefighters, Inc., $300,000.00 for their building and 6 acres of property on 9-Mile Road in Beulah.

These Volunteer Firefighters purchased the property and built the facility that is being acquired by the county--- and they have a long history of tremendous service to this community.

Because they are a registered non-profit corporation, the money they realize from the sale of this property and building must be used for a public purpose.  I'm not privy to what the actual plan is for these funds, but I have heard that there is a plan to establish a scholarship fund to assist future first responders who wish to pursue a career in this field.

Due to the layout of the Beulah property--the addition to the current 
facility will likely be constructed behind the existing bay

The plan going forward is to modernize the truck bay, and then subsequently to add a modern addition behind the existing bay structure.  The addition will have a large and comfortable meeting space, showers/lockers, a large kitchen and bunk facilities--all of which are amenities the existing facility lacks.  Additionally, I am working to ensure that this station will in the very near future have a ladder/bucket truck so that any emergency at the new Navy Federal Credit Union campus can be addressed by the Beulah fire department.

I have been told the Beulah Firefighters had a meeting last night and agreed to the purchase price, in principal.  The stipulations from the perspective of the firefighters, according to one individual at the meeting with whom I have spoken, are two-fold.  They want the facility modernized, and they want to ensure the facility is not moved to a different location but stays where it is currently.

I do believe we will be able to broker an agreement to move forward on this, to everyone's satisfaction, so that the growing Beulah area will have a modernized fire service, fully capable of handling any emergency in our growing area.