A much-needed expansion is in the works for the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad. Plans are being made to build a new facility on the property with their existing facility beside Greenbrook Park.
Rescue Squad building committee member Joe Johnson and Captain Dustin Johnson requested approval for the project from the city council last week, since the building is on city property.
The aldermen voted unanimously to approve the building, which Joe Johnson said would be completed without any cost to the city. County government has included funds for construction in the budget, and the rest of the money will come from donations and fundraisers.
“We're proposing to do this at no cost to the city,” he said. “The county commission has given us some money and we've raised some. We've got it up to about $17,000. We're still probably about $5,000 short.”
The rescue squad’s equipment is currently housed in several locations, including squad members garages and storage buildings.
“We have outgrown our building,” Johnson said. “It's still a good building, but it's too small, and we're having to store equipment at various member's locations.
“Our equipment is scattered. We've got two boats in a little storage building, but it takes about fifteen minutes to get one of them out and get it hooked to a truck. When we get a call, we need to go. We don't need to be trying to hand get a boat out of a storage building. These boats are heavy. It takes about four people to get them out. With the new building, we'll be able to drive in, leave the boat hooked to the truck, and then when we get a call, we will simply raise the door and drive out. It changes our response time. We're also building this for future expansion, so maybe we won't have to do it again,”  Johnson said.
Plans call for a 36' x 60' foot building structure with three 12-foot wide bays.
The county has reportedly budgeted $8,700 for the building and $1,700 for new doors on the existing building.
Rescue squad members, who volunteer their time to the organization, help search for drowning victims, conducts cave rescues, and searches for people who are missing. They also provide manpower assistance to local law enforcement and fire departments when needed.