CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Woodsboro Volunteer Fire Department moved into its newly rebuilt fire house this month, five years after Hurricane Harvey destroyed it.
In nearby Refugio, firefighters there are also enjoying their new fire station.
Lee Riemenschneider has been the Woodsboro fire chief for over 40 years and worked for the volunteer department since 1962. He is still moving into the new fire station.
"It was tough luck. I say we are still moving stuff from over there. Most of it's going in at THE 10 building right now, so we've got our bunker gear and racks and stuff in there to hang our gear in, and it was tough really."
The Refugio Volunteer Fire Department moved into its newly rebuilt fire station last August. It, too, was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. After nearly five years, the federal government is supposed to send the last of the checks this week covering nearly half of the $2.2 million it took to build the new station.
"Our equipment took a beating sitting out in the weather for almost four years. It was over 1,400 days. A little over 1,400 days," said Chief Ronnie Williams with the Refugio Volunteer Fire Department.
From May of last year until the end of April of this year, the number of calls for service in Refugio went up by 28%. In the meantime, the chief is working on trying to replace its aging fleet of fire trucks.
Williams said the average age of his fleet is around 24 years old. However, one of the department's trucks was up and running during the Lyndon Johnson administration -- the old army truck that was built in 1968, and was retrofitted to serve as a brush truck.
"It's primarily for fighting large brushfires and running in heavy brush," Williams said. "We bought this truck new, rebuilt out of Tennessee 20 years ago. It's been in service at least that long."
Williams said the truck can still get the job done in heavy brush. However, because of its age it's getting harder to find parts. Williams also has two other vehicles that are well past their prime. He is hoping to be able to replace two of the three emergency vehicles through state and federal grants.
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