Irmo, SC (Paul Kirby) – The Irmo Fire District is almost ready to open their new fire station. It’s been needed for years but sadly, the money just wasn’t available to the small special purpose district that already has two stations to keep running.
The new fire station is off Lake Murray Boulevard behind the Piggie Park. It’s also close to the Irmo PD and the office of the SC Transport Police. It’s much closer to I-26 than either of their other stations and that’s where a lot of their calls for service are. Most importantly, it’s north of the railroad tracks that split the town in half. Their two current stations are both south of those.
Mike Sonefeld, the chief of the district has said he has the fire equipment to supply the new station to standard, he’s just short on the everyday items needed to “Stock the station”. He’s looking for things like a vacuum, chairs, office supplies, and even beds and mattresses for the firefighters. Afterall, you can only stretch a budget so far and building the new station was challenging.
Chief Sonefeld is very fiscally responsible, so instead of borrowing to buy, he’s turning to the community for help. The Irmo Fire District Foundation is pitching in and helping to acquire those everyday items. The Irmo Chamber of Commerce has also pledged to help “Stock the Station” by advertising the program and acting as a drop off site for donations.
Chief Sonefeld has made a detailed list of what he needs. Donors can do a little or a lot; anything you can afford would help. You can even give money or gift cards and the firefighters will do the shopping themselves from the chief’s list. Here’s how you can get in on this worthy cause.
You can make financial donations. Checks should be payable to the Irmo Fire Foundation. Those can be mailed to the Irmo Fire District Headquarters Station. That address is 6017 St. Andrews Road Columbia, SC 29212. Just put “Stock the Station” in your memo line. They’ll also accept gift cards to Staples, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sam’s Club, or Costco. Just tape those to a sheet of paper and fold it like a letter if you’re mailing these.
You can also purchase one of the items off the list on their website. Just click here LINK.
Donations of any of the items can also be dropped off or mailed to the Irmo Chamber of Commerce. That’s located at 1235 Columbia Ave, Irmo SC. Please include your name and address and they’ll send you a receipt for a deduction on your taxes. Check the list regularly so when they get the items the need, you want be duplicating that.
Let’s all help these public servants be comfortable and ready to go if we need them. Let’s all help “Stock the Station.”
