Fire station’s truck bay renovations completed

It’s almost brand new,” is how Lee Hebert, chairman of Fire District No. 9, describes the renovations to the Rayne Volunteer Fire Department’s main station on Adams Avenue.
Once an ordered part for one of the doors arrives, repairs to the station’s truck bay will be complete.
Plans for the renewed truck bay were discussed at the fire district’s meeting last week.
Noting the current station was 37 years old, Hebert said he hopes the new truck bay will last 35 or more years of use.
The reconstruction work was required after a portion of the station’s exterior wall was pulled down on Sept. 1, 2014 as fire truck No. 15 was responding to a chemical alarm sounded at the Baker-Hughes plant off Highway 90 in the Rayne-Crowley Industrial Park. After firemen arrived, they discovered the alarm had malfunctioned.
During reconstruction, the truck bay was outfitted with new lighting and insulation, Hebert reported.
During the rebuilding project, several small plaques, featuring former volunteers were removed. Hebert reported those mementos will be re-purposed.
The board approved plans to erect a new sign at the main station, featuring images of the department’s frog mascot, one showing the frog-like mascot holding a jaw of life while a second shows the fire department frog holding a fire hose.
In other business, the board approved the purchase of a pump to power the department’s extrication tools.