Planning for the next 65 years: Shanghai VFD to raise $4,000,000 for new building

By Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent

Shanghai Fire Department, Shelby, NC. The new building being proposed will be built to the right of the three bays which were built in 2000. The structure to the left of the bays will be demolished. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent

The request for fire safety is one most communities do not think much about until it’s needed.

We drive past their stations and keep going – the only visits some of us make to a fire station is when someone is on the campaign trail or if it’s a district’s local place to vote.

Fire departments and their ability to serve their communities help determine insurance rates on your homeowner’s policy. They come to your rescue when you’re in an accident, during a medical emergency and even a false alarm call.

They’re always there when we need them and now they need you to be there for them.

The Shanghai Volunteer Fire Department is on a mission to build a new firehouse. The old one has served them well, but it dates back to 1959. Named after the old Shanghai school, it’s a rural fire district that serves the southwestern portion of Cleveland County, of areas from River Bend Golf Course neighborhood to Mt. Sinai area, Shady Side Dragway, and bordering its district with Boiling Springs, the City of Shelby and down to the South Carolina state line.

As Shanghai VFD Chief Jimmy Queen said, “It’s time; we need a new building and we hope to be able to make that happen.”

And there’s good reason to be concerned.

While Congressman Tim Moore was able to secure a couple of grants for Shanghai, one had an expiration date for having to be used, which they put to good use, using the funds to purchase 10,500 cubic yards of dirt to be used to fill in the hole once the old building is demolished.

The department had to stop selling Boston butts due to the fact the firefighters cooking them would have to leave to go on one of the 400 calls Shanghai receives every year.

“A lot of folks we’re disappointed when we stopped doing those (BBQ fundraisers),” said Queen. “But we didn’t have any choice. We have to run the calls and respond to emergencies.”

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“We used to do fundraising at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but with volunteerism going down, the guys who show up to cook, show up to respond to calls," explained Queen. "We can’t offer both, and be good at both.”

They currently offer a photo funding, where a family, couple or even one person can have their portrait made in exchange for a donation, but that’s a lot of photos to get to four million dollars.

The question was raised on loans, since firefighter grants are not available, however, as Assistant Chief David Dodd explained, “We don’t have the money to make payments on three million plus bucks. It’s not there.”

The current structure, which has served the fire district since 1959, has gone under several additions and renovations, but like all things in time, has worn to the point where another remodel would be very expensive, and the department is looking toward the future. As Dodd explained.

From left, Chief Jimmy Queen and Asst. Chief David Dodd, stand in the original structure that was built in 1959. Chuck Thompson | The Shelby Independent

“This building has served us for almost 70 years; it will be by the time we get a new building in service. We’re not just looking at right now, but how we can best help the department 65 to 70 years from now. They can’t continue on here.”

With the original building constructed in ‘59, a truck bay was added in 1962, and a section bay area was added in 2000. The newest addition will be saved and the new building, once the funds are raised, will be added to the other side of the addition built in 2000.

The current bay section, built in 2000 will serve as a space for mechanical, cleaning, exercising and more as part of the new building. Chuck Thompson | Shelby Independent

“The three bay space that we have now will only accommodate the size vehicles that are being manufactured today,” said Dodd. “And we need a space where we can staff 24 hours a day, and we’re trying to get ahead of that. We’re doing the best we can with what we have now.”

Queen explained during hurricane Helene, some 20 or more volunteer fire fighters stood poised at the station, ready to go at a moment’s notice to help those in need, and that’s when everyone piled up together realized that the station was ageing, it was small and there was nowhere for the volunteers to sleep.

The new building will provide a few quarters for volunteers to stay around the clock, taking shifts and catching some sleep in moments like another Hurricane Helene or some other event.

“We did have a generator during Helene, so we still had power,” noted Queen. “We were very busy that day and calls were sporadic the next few days, but if we had to house firefighters, we legally, by code, had nowhere to house them. Also, as trucks grow larger from the space that was built for them in 1962, and 2000 – shapes change on the trucks, they get taller and / or wider, we need the proper bays with larger doors to properly keep them.”

Queen, who recently retired from the Gastonia Fire Department as a battalion chief, and Dodd who is a retired 911 communications director both have the experience to know what it takes to plan for the future for emergency services.

Like Dodd had said, Queen also mentioned looking down the road another 65 years from now, noting that it was better to be prepared than not, when no one knows what a fire truck will look like half a century from now.

Shanghai VFD Chief Jimmy Queen puts a jaws of life away, in a fire truck compartment.

Queen and Dodd both said the county commissioners have been very supportive of their situation, but there’s only so much money available to help any single department, and with the lack of firefighting grants, there’s no other option but to try to raise the money through donations.

The new building Shanghai hopes to build will be over 10,000 square feet; a much larger space than they have today. The plans include the space to hold up to six fire trucks, with six bay doors, a large meeting area, sleeping quarters and the current existing addition, built in 2000 will be used for mechanical, storage, cleaning, and exercise, just to name a few.

As for when construction will begin on the new structure – “When we have the funding,” Queen said. “We hope that we can find a way to make this happen before everything costs a little more than it does now.”

An architectural rendering of what the proposed new fire station will look like, once completed. Courtesy of Shanghai VFD

For anyone wanting to donate, you can call 704-482-2700 for more information, or drop by the station in person, located at 1435 Burke Rd, Shelby, NC 28152. For other options, or more information, please email the Shanghai Fire Department, at chief@shanghai-VFD.org. Make any checks payable to Shanghai Volunteer Fire Department.

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Chuck Thompson is a reporter for The Shelby Independent.