Talk of Toney

By Staff
Harvest fire department to break ground on new station
By Todd Panter
Guest writer
To keep up with the residential and business growth occurring in the Harvest area, the Harvest Volunteer Fire Department will break ground this month on a new station.
A few miles up the road at the Toney Volunteer Fire Department, David Bradford has been named interim chief.
Alan Webster, president of the Harvest Volunteer Fire Department, said the $80,000 station should take about three months to build. When completed, the station will have three bays and house one pumper truck.
"Sometime in the future, we would like to have a brush truck along with an EMS unit in there," Webster said.
Madison County funds, along with yearly fundraisers by the department, will account for the cost to build the new station.
David Bradford, a driver and engineer for the Huntsville Fire Department, has been named interim chief of the Toney Fire Department.
At the present time, there are three stations within the department. Bradford said the newest station, located at 195 High Dr., and has three bays and houses one pumper and a medic van.
"Next year, we hope to have a brush truck here," Bradford said. "The new station cost $80,000 to build with a bulk of the money coming from Madison County and various fundraisers.
"While the county does contribute a certain amount of money each year, it is absolutely critical that the community help out with their donations and participation in the fundraisers," Bradford said.
As a result of having three stations and a fourth on the way, Bradford said current insurance ratings, which is 6-9, may drop to 5-9 when the ISO issues a new rating.
"If this happens, homeowner's insurance rates may also drop," Bradford said. "We are always looking for ways to make the community a safer place to live."
There are 31 members presently serving the Toney Volunteer Fire Department.
Current membership at the Harvest Volunteer Fire Department is 45. Bob Murphy took over as the new chief of the department in January.