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By Tyler Riggs
PARADISE -- The town is broke and its dilapidated fire station isn't far behind. The former schoolhouse is full of a mishmash of emergency vehicles, ranging from a Chevrolet Silverado to a Mercedes Unimog, or as Paradise Fire Department secretary Jeremy Otero called it, a "mountain goat on wheels." Town officials say the building is not at all structurally sound. "You can see all the cracks on it," Otero said. "When a big earthquake hits, we're going to lose it." If a temblor were to hit Paradise, chances are the structure would crumble, burying everything inside. "You'd have to clean bricks off the trucks before you could go out and do any rescues or life saving," Fire Chief Troy Fredrickson said. No one at the 100-percent volunteer department denies the need for a new structure, but the meager funds the town has to work with have gone up in metaphorical flames year after year. The town may soon find a spark to get the project started, however. Councilman Dave Anderson is spearheading an application for a community development grant that could net the town $150,000. While there is bound to be some debate about how the money should be spent, many say they believe the fire station is the top priority. "[The new station] probably won't happen if we don't get the grant because Paradise is a poor town," Fredrickson said. The grant application process includes surveying 180 town residents. The survey will be completed by Wednesday, when a public hearing will take place at 8 p.m. Fredrickson said a basic new station with no frills would cost between $200,000 and $350,000. He said the town already owns some plots of land in different locations. Location is something that would be strongly considered in construction of a new station. "One of the big concerns with this station right here is it's right in the middle of all the parks," he said. "On soccer nights and baseball nights, there's a bazillion kids running around." Fredrickson said a new station built along the main road would likely increase response time. The potential for better service would benefit the community as a whole, he said.
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