ND fire department’s new station 15 years in the making

While the community tried to figure out how to pay for the station, some rigs sat outside year round due to lack of space

March 31, 2016 12:44 PM

Grand Forks Herald

MANVEL, N.D. — It took a village to raise funds for the Manvel Fire Station, but the new facility is expected to pay off.

Community leaders joined firefighters Wednesday as they cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening of the fire station, which cost about $950,000, according to Herald archives. Volunteers spent 15 years raising about $150,000 for the building, and the remaining $800,000 was collected through a mill levy increase that took effect Jan. 1, 2015.

“When North Dakota communities come together, we can do anything, no matter how many pancake breakfasts it takes to get the job done,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday. “These are folks who saw a need in their community and put in the hard work to meet that need.”

Manvel Fire Chief Steven Schumer previously told the Herald he estimated the old station was built in the late 1950s or early ‘60s.

One of Manvel’s five firetrucks had to sit outside year-round because of a lack of space inside the old station. The new fire station, which was built closer to Interstate 29 to allow Manvel’s Ferry Township Rural Fire Protection District to respond to emergency situations faster, is large enough to house all five firetrucks. It will also include a training space and meeting rooms.