*Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct an error that appeared in its original publication.
Lake Santeetlah – Town of Lake Santeetlah residents showed up to a community dinner at Col. Ernest Manierre Memorial Park on Aug. 4, to express their appreciation and gratitude to the Santeetlah Volunteer Fire Department.
Mayor Connie Gross presented a check for $4,500 to Santeetlah Fire Chief Brian Johnson, before opening the serving line to provide a home-cooked feast to fire department members and families, and a handful of Lake Santeetlah families who attended the event.
Gross and her husband Jack Gross prepared a barbecue meal with all the fixings for the event and paid for it out of their own pocket.
Afterward, Jack – a former full-time firefighter from Metro-Dade Fire Rescue Department – gave a demonstration on the proper way to use fire extinguishers to put out kitchen grease fires and wood fires.
The Santeetlah volunteers are seeking to raise $80,000 to build a new fire house to accommodate their latest acquisition, a 48-foot Freightliner pumper tanker that is too big to fit in the existing station house off of Tapoco Road.
The new engine holds 2,500 gallons of water, more than twice as much as the departments two other smaller engines combined.
Mayor Gross watched as the firefighters and their families went through the serving line.
“This to me is what it’s all about,” Gross said.
The fire rating for the Town of Lake Santeetlah is 5 — the same as it is for the Town of Robbinsville. Gross said it saves property owners a significant amount of money on their homeowners insurance.
To donate to the fire house fund, contact Johnson at (828) 735-0010.