In the center of Calhoun County, one rural township fire department has reason to celebrate.
The Butler Township Fire Department is thriving, and recently put up a new building to replace its aging fire station in Knoke.
It’s a big step up, according to Fire Chief Randy Neeman.
“It’s 60-by-60, which gives us lots of room,” Neeman said. “Now we can do training in here, that we never used to be able to do inside.”
The old station barely left any room to walk between the trucks, Neeman said. “You waited till summer, and would do training outside,” he said. “There wasn’t much you could do in the wintertime, because there was just enough room to walk between the trucks, and a little space behind them for a table and chairs, and that’s all we had.”
The building took a few years of looking ahead.
“It’s really been in progress for three or four years, probably,” he said. “The trustees for the township have been putting some money away every year, for whatever reason — if we need to upgrade a truck, or something like that.”