Howardwick fire dept. expands building

An expansion to the City of Howardwick Volunteer Fire Department building is progressing and promises to give the department much-needed extra space.

Fire Chief Susie Langford says the 12×35 addition to the fire hall will provide space for the department’s bunker gear as well as office space and a media wall for training personnel. The current office space will then be converted to a bathroom for the fire hall.

City Secretary and fire department member Sandra Childress said funds for the expansion came from a gun raffle as well as a $500 grant from the Donley County Community Fund. Locals residents have also donated a toilet and lavatory for the project, Childress said.

“We really want to let everyone know how much we appreciate their support of our fundraiser,” Childress said.

Langford said the department recently received new bunker gear thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Texas Forest Service, and more projects are being discussed to raise funds in the future.

The department currently has ten members with two applications pending. Landford said she would like to reach 15 and eventually 20 members. She says the department has a place not just for residents who want to fight fires but also for people to help with grants, secretarial work, and community service.

“The fire department is very community service driven,” Childress said, noting that its members have helped with clean-ups, deliveries during COVID, and other activities.

CHVFD responded to four calls last year and three calls for assistance. They responded to one fire just Monday, Langford said. The county has also increased the department’s call-out area from just the corporate limits of Howardwick south to the Greenbelt Lake entrance to Sandy Beach and north to County Road I.

Childress and Langford both expressed the department’s appreciation of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department for working with the Howardwick firefighters and letting the departments train together.

“We really learn a lot from them,” Langford said.