The new Otter Creek Fire Station, still under construction, recently unveiled the four vehicle bays’ new roll up doors emblazoned with the stars and stripes of the United States of America’s flag.
County officials revealed the structure’s patriotic surprise feature to a crowd of approximately 80 Pierce County fire fighters, friends and supporters late last Thursday afternoon. A collective murmur of appreciation and scattered applause welled up from the crowd as the roll up doors descended to reveal the red, white and blue image in a manner not unlike a flag unfurling.
Commissioner Graham Raley, representing District 2, explained some of the effort put in to make the specially designed and painted doors a success. When not representing his district, Raley works as vice president in charge of finances and operations of Roll-Up Door Incorporated (RDI), the company that designed and installed the doors. He initially sketched out the design on his computer in Excel and soon two veterans working at RDI asked to help.
“They wanted to be part of it, to make sure the stars were correct and the right position and proportions,” said Raley. “They did a great job, making everything line up and look right. It isn’t easy when you’re working with 13 stripes.”
Raley also commended the three RDI workers that installed the doors on site. Juan Castillo, Manny Aguirre and Javier Moreno worked close to a 10 hour day getting the four doors in place for the big reveal. All three workers were commended by the gathered officials who shook their hands in gratitude for the hard work. Raley singled out Castillo for special praise.
“He is the backbone of the operation. If I ever have a question I ask him,” he said.
Raley also thanked Watson and Eileen Coffee, the owner of RDI and his wife.
“They were the ones that made it all possible,” Raley said.
There was still more praise and gratitude to go around as others among the assembled group contributed to the discussion.
“It just amazes me, in our community, the giving back we see here,” said Commissioner David Lowman, representing District 4 and a volunteer firefighter himself. “Half of ya’ll just come off a call and here you are. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
“The fire departments in Pierce County have come a long way and we’re going to go a lot further,” Chairman Neal Bennett said. “We have three more locations we want to do and we’re going to prioritize that over the next few years.”
Otter Creek Station Chief Terry Thrift said, “We’ve been in that building down the street for 40 years and we’re very grateful to Mrs. Raulerson for making this land available to keep us here in the area.”
Phyllis Raulerson sold the land for the new station.
Not one to let an assemblage of the county firefighters pass him by, Pierce County Fire Chief Chris Todd held an impromptu training session following the ceremony, showing the minds of Pierce’s firefighters are never far from their work and the new doors show that the minds of Pierce’s citizens and businesses are never far from them.
The new doors are part of the new $194,459 fire station being constructed in the Otter Creek Community by Sheet and Metal Systems (SAMS) Inc. of Blackshear.
When completed, the 4,000 square foot facility will feature four roll up bay doors to accommodate a minimum of four fire trucks or other fire fighting apparatus. There will also be a small office space, bathroom and a shower area for decontamination.
The new facility is located near the old station at the corner of Owens and Stanfield Roads in the Otter Creek Community. Funds from the special purpose local option sales tax will be used to fund its construction.
