MARCH 12, 2010: Fire Department awarded $30,000 state grant     The Arkansas Department of Rural Services recently announced the awarding of a $30,000 fire protection grant to the Maumelle Fire Department. The grant was announced at the April 19 Maumelle City Council meeting.     Fire Chief George Glenn says that the grant monies will be divided into five areas. The largest portion of the grant -- $8,475 -- was used to purchase 2,600 feet of new fire hose.      - $6,750 was spent to update the radio pagers used to alert career and volunteer firefighters of emergencies.      - $6,114 will be used to purchase new personal protective equipment for firefighters.      - $4,361 is allocated for the installation of a fire alarm system at Fire Station 2.      - $4,300 will be used for furnishings at Fire Station 2 when the area previously utilized for the police department is converted into living quarters for firefighters. MARCH 12, 2010: New fire department headquarters finally opens; Millwood Circle facility remains open as Station 2     It's been a long wait, but Maumelle is now a two fire station town.     Maumelle Fire Station 1 opened for business Friday (March 12), when Engine Company 1 relocated from their former quarters in what is now Fire Station 2 at 100 Millwood Circle. The new station, located at 2000 Murphy Drive, is also the home to all of the fire department's administrative offices.     The station at 100 Millwood Circle will remain open as Fire Station 2, serving as home to Engine Company 2. Engine 1 will protect a large portion of the city's industrial park as well as neighborhoods throughout the northern portion of Maumelle and the Morgan commercial district. Engine 2 will be first-due to most areas of the city south of Edgewood Drive, Naylor Drive & Lake Valley Drive.     Fire Station 1 meets many needs not provided for in the old facilities. For the first time, the fire department will have a training room for both in-house training and outside courses taught by agencies such as the Arkansas Fire Academy. Offices for the Fire Chief, Fire Marshal and Administrative Assistant will be under one roof for the first time since 2008, when Fire Marshal John Payne had to relocate to City Hall so that living quarters at Millwood Circle could be expanded. The three apparatus bays more than double the space available to house the department's fleet of vehicles.     The initial plan for Fire Station 2 is to renovate the now-vacant police department offices into living quarters for Engine Company 2. Moving the career firefighters downstairs from their current living space will allow for quicker response times and improved energy efficiency in the station. Engine 2 will continue to share the building with the Maumelle District Court. The eventual plan is to relocate Station 2 to a site further south to improve coverage of the city. However, no timetable exists for that project.     The need for two fire stations was first outlined in a memo from Fire Chief George Glenn to then-Mayor Burch Johnson in 2003. The memo stated that two fire stations with a minimum of three firefighters on duty at a time in each station was necessary to protect the city, which had an estimated population of 13,000 at the time. Currently, the two stations are staffed with a minimum of two firefighters at a time. Maumelle's population is estimated at more than 16,000.     Land for the new fire and police stations was first set aside in 2006 by the Maumelle Public Facilities Board, but plans for the fire station were temporarily scrapped in 2007. The idea was renewed in February 2008, when the Public Facilities Board again approved use of the land for police and fire stations. Ground was broken on the site October 20, 2008 and construction began in earnest before the end of that year. Originally slated to open in Fall 2009, the final move-in was delayed some six months due to extremely wet weather last year. MARCH 5, 2010: Maumelle firefighters were recently recognized by the Maumelle Rotary Club at the annual Police & Fire Banquet. Firefighters gathered for a photo afterward. Pictured are (from left) Firefighter Dustin Worlow, Captain Michael Cossey, Fire Marshal John Payne, Engineer Jeremy New, Captain Shane Holmes, Firefighter Josh Woods, Chief of Department George Glenn, Firefighter Travis Foreman, Engineer Charles Watson, Engineer Paul Grove, Captain Eugene Stacy, Firefighter Tyler Castleberry and Probationary Firefighter Destin Weaver. (Photo by Terri Cossey)   Firefighters recognized at annual Rotary banquet     Career and volunteer members of the Maumelle Fire Department were among those recognized during the annual Police & Fire Banquet Friday, March 5. The banquet is sponsored annually by the Maumelle Rotary Club and held at the Maumelle Country Club.     Awards presented during the banquet included:     Five-Year Service Recognition - Volunteer Firefighters Maury Loket and Bynum Matthews were recognized for five years of service with the fire department. They each joined during Summer 2004.     Five-Year Good Conduct - Captain Shane Holmes, Captain Scott Eaton, Engineer Adam Swalls, Engineer Austin Woody and Firefighter Josh Wood were recognized with awards for five years of exemplary conduct in the performance of duty. The hiring of the "Class of 2004" allowed the fire department to split from the Department of Public Safety in December 2004.     Ten-Year Good Conduct - Captain Eugene Stacy received a ten-year Good Conduct Award in addition to being recognized for 25 years of service to the City of Maumelle Department of Public Safety and Fire Department.     Meritorious Service Award - Fire Marshal John Payne, Captain Michael Cossey, Engineer Adam Cordell and Firefighter Travis Foreman were presented the Meritorious Service Award for lifesaving. After finding a patient not breathing and without a pulse last November, these members successfully resuscitated the patient using CPR and an automatic external defibrillator (AED).      Career Firefighter of the Year - Firefighter Tyler Castleberry was named the 2009 Career Firefighter of the Year. Castleberry was hired in July 2007 and is assigned to Engine 2 on B-shift.     Volunteer Firefighter of the Year - Volunteer Engineer Kyle Howard was named the 2009 Volunteer Firefighter of the Year. Howard joined the department in April 2003.       Civilian Service Recognition - Chief Glenn recognized resident Linda Stowe with a Civilian Service Recognition award for her continued support of the fire department and its members.

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