Kress makes critical fundraisers after winch roof had blown from the fire station

Lubbock, Texas (KCBD) – with strong winds that return to prediction, says the volunteer fire chief in Kress that his small city cannot handle another “big disaster”. Friday, 80 miles per hour of wind gusts, the roof blew from his department.

The Volunteer Fire Department of Kress was already in the middle of the fundraising campaign for a new station, but the damage caused by storm of the past week means that these efforts are now even more critical.

When the wind tore the drivers off the street on Friday, Voluntary firefighters from Kress helped the scene and blocked the street. When they came back to the train station between the calls, they found that the roof was on the other side of the street.

“The building was not really important at this time. It was still, we have to take care of everyone who has wrecks and have to block the traffic. That was our focus, ”said boss David Hughes.

Now that the sky has clarified and the dust has settled, the reality begins to sink. Unfortunately the ceiling could also.

“If it rains again, all the water will pouddle on the ceiling and then the ceiling could collapse on everything that is here,” he said.

Without knowing whether the building is stable, your trucks are now scattered in the city. Firefighters still have to go to the station to get their equipment before calls, and the response times for the department that covers the large rural area between Plainview and Tulia.

“If you don't breathe, can you wait 15 or 20 minutes? Probably not. So it is critical. It is critical, this community must have this fire brigade and all communities need a fire brigade, ”said Hughes.

The country for a new station was already donated on the site of an old petrol station. Hughes says you can't start building until the state environmental authorities remove tanks from the ground. He was told that TCEQ would only have funding for this in September.

“This is a delay of six months there when it even starts to build a new structure. So I don't know what we'll do by then, ”he said. “Especially if you say we can't insert anything into this building.”

Last year Kress collected $ 100,000 for the new station. Hughes collected money through a haircut in May and brought in 8,500 US dollars. However, the department still has at least 200,000 US dollars for the increase.

“This is another problem we have is that we have not yet finished financing for the new building. So there was only a lot of problems for us and we try to find a direction. Where do we go from here? “

Hughes contacted Senator Charles Perry's office and sent a letter to the governor and the president to ask for help.

“Big cities, they have a disaster, and everything, they come in and help them to rebuild and all of this. But if they have a tiny little city, this is a disaster for Kress. It is a big disaster for this small city, ”said Hughes.

To help the Kress volunteer fire brigade, post donations to PO Box 236, Kress, TX 79052.

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