Whiteland Fire Department in the aftermath of the tornado that ripped through Whiteland in late March.
Photo provided by Whiteland Fire
Whiteland firefighters will again base their operations in town — albeit in an unconventional way.
The Whiteland Town Council unanimously approved a $35,000 voucher Tuesday night that will place a mobile home next to the heavily damaged Whiteland fire station, allowing local firefighters to operate in town once again. The station was struck by an EF-3 tornado last March that peeled back portions of the station’s roof and caused the ceiling to collapse, rendering the majority of the station unusable. The department currently shares space with the New Whiteland Fire Department.
Whiteland Director of Operations Shaun “Slim” Young said because the bunk area of the station is still torn up, the town needed to come up with a temporary housing solution that also enabled the firefighters to return to the town.
“The bay where the trucks are located is pretty much OK,” he said. “So, we’re going to put the firefighters in the trailer for now until we can get a bunk area rebuilt and then they can move back in.”
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom mobile home is projected to arrive on Thursday and will be set on the foundation. Sewage and water lines have already been installed, and gas will be hooked up upon the trailer’s arrival. It also comes with kitchen, dining and living room areas.
An average of three firefighters will be staying in the mobile home at all times, said Eric Funkhouser, Whiteland fire chief.
Because the bunk rooms were one of the most damaged parts of the fire station, the department was forced to relocate to the New Whiteland Fire Department, which was about a mile away. The two departments have operated under one roof since the incident, and Funkhouser said he is grateful for that help.
“New Whiteland has been fantastic from the beginning,” Funkhouser said. “They’ve been very gracious hosts. They opened up their doors to us as soon as they could. From April 1st on, we’ve been operating together, working together and going on runs together. We’ll still work together and run together like we have been as we go forward.”
Although Whiteland Fire Department’s vehicle bay is home to several trucks and continues to remain fully functional, their main fire engine had to be moved to New Whiteland’s department, which was a tight squeeze. The main fire engine performs between 80% and 90% of the department’s duties. The Whiteland station’s vehicle bay is home to vehicles such as a tanker truck and a new ladder truck, which is set to begin service soon, he said.
Bringing the firefighters back into the Whiteland community will not only bring their equipment together to one location, it will also assist in reducing the department’s response time in the event of certain emergency situations that do not require the main engine.
“It’s keeping them closer to their trucks,” Young said. “When they get a call, they are more available to get into their trucks. It [eliminates] the scenario of them being across town and having to send someone over to get one of the trucks. They can just get what they need and go.”
Although it has yet to begin, construction of the department’s new facilities are set to begin in the near future, as Young estimates that the mobile home will house the firefighters for approximately six months.
The process has taken some time to initiate, as Whiteland Fire had to wait for their insurance company to perform a damage assessment and complete their reports on the property. The tornado was not the only cause of damage to the property; water damage and mold became a significant factor as well.
“We’re still working through that process with Whiteland and with the insurance company,” Funkhouser said. “We’re looking at all of the options on the table right now.
“You never expect a tornado to come through the area, but when it does, we learn from that. That is something that we are now planning for when you build a station or rebuild a station back. We’ll definitely be looking at brick, block or different components like that which will provide better protection in the future if this ever happens again.”
One of the possible solutions would be to potentially fix the damaged building and use it for something else such as a public safety building, he said.
