Karen Nicholson, of Edgewood, had the steadfast support of the members assigned to the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company's Hanson Road firehouse during her youngest son's more than three-year battle against leukemia.
Now, she and her family are working to repay that support with a campaign to raise $5 million to upgrade the firehouse.
"These guys and gals are very near and dear to us," she said during a celebration Saturday morning to kick off the capital campaign. "If I can help them, if I can help the community, then that's what I want to do."
The Nicholson family, their fellow members of Mountain Christian Church and fire company members celebrated the start of the capital campaign at the firehouse, which is called Fort Hanson. Company officials are working to expand the 26-year-old facility, which was designed originally as a substation, to meet an increasing fire and EMS call volume.