Monetta Community Volunteer Fire Department holds ribbon-cutting to open new fire station

March 02-- Mar. 2--The Monetta Community Volunteer Fire Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house Saturday morning to celebrate their new fire station located on Wire Road.

Monetta Fire Chief Nathan Shuler cut the blue ribbon Saturday, along with S.C. House Rep. Bill Taylor, Aiken County Councilwoman Kathy Rawls and several others.

The ceremony marked the grand opening of Station 3 in Monetta at 3015 Wire Road, which was built by the volunteer firefighters themselves, Shuler said.

"The people out here in Monetta we're more than 5 miles to a fire station, which increased their insurance," Shuler said. "The Insurance Service Office requires us to have a fire station within 5 miles of any house in the area, but Monetta is 65 square miles. We finally decided we needed to put one out here to fulfill that requirement for our residents."

Now, with the addition of this new fire station, 98 percent of residents in the area are within the 5 mile radius, he said.

The land where the new building sits was donated to the department.

Following the ribbon cutting, attendees could enjoy free food and kids were able to play on a bounce house.

Taylor also presented the department with a South Carolina flag to join their American flag. The flag was once flown above the South Carolina Statehouse, he said.

"I have a very special dictionary and when looked up the definition of public servant, it said volunteer firefighters," Taylor said. "Volunteer firefighters give up their time and risk their lives doing this job they do, and they don't get paid. So, I agree with that definition -- volunteer firefighters are the epitome of what it means to be a public servant."

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard. Follow him on Twitter at @trippgirardeau.

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