CORINNA, Maine — For more than 70 years, the town of Corinna has relied on the same fire station.
"It had used up all its goodness," Corinna Fire Chief Allen Emerson said.
Deteriorating from water damage and too small to fit modern fire trucks, working conditions were getting tough for the department.
With a new station made possible through federal funding, though, Emerson said he's already noticing a difference.
"Coming in here, there's so much room. Guys and gals actually got room to put their gear on without being shoulder-to-shoulder or grabbing their gear and going outside and putting it on like we had to at the other station," Emerson said.
The new facility comes equipped with five bays, allowing room for every emergency vehicle in the department's fleet. That includes the new ATV purchased with a grant from Firehouse Subs, which will help firefighters respond to emergencies that may be in hard-to-reach areas.
The additional space also allows for extra gear stations where firefighters can store their equipment, as well as a meeting room, kitchen, shower, and even a laundry room.
These additions as well as other upgrades to equipment are not only helping the department respond to emergencies more efficiently but also boosting spirits.
"The morale has picked up. ... I don't even know what number to put on it. Guys have put time in here for the last four or five weeks cleaning, moving stuff from the old station here, getting everything all setup," Emerson said.
Not only for firefighters, but also for Corinna residents like Betsy Dorman, whose father used to work for the department.
"It's been great you know, I feel safer," Dorman said.
Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the station, Sen. Susan Collins, who helped secure more than $1.7 million for the upgrade, said new facilities like these help rural communities like Corinna in more ways than just safety.
"It's so important to keeping people in our rural towns and our smaller communities because if they don't feel that they're safe, that there's someone they can call if their house is on fire, then they're not likely to live in the community," Collins, R-Maine, said.
Emerson said the department's next goals are to name portions of the fire station after fallen Corinna firefighters, as well as purchase a boat with leftover funds to help respond to water-related emergencies.