On Monday, April 15th, Ocracoke residents celebrated at a groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited new Fire Hall. Local church pastors Laura Stern and Ivey Belch offered blessings and prayers over the new building and the firefighters.
Dick Jacoby, who serves as the Ocracoke Fire and Protection president and as a captain in OVFD, thanked the many people who made this day possible. First on the list were Julia Hutcherson, and her son, Tommy Hutcherson, who donated the land for the Fire Hall. He thanked Larry Ihle for his help with fundraising and building plans, Linda Ihle for helping to design the building, and the OFPA's hardworking board of directors. Dick turned the mike over to Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department chief Albert O'Neal so he could say a few words.
"All I can say is 'Wow,'" Albert said. The crowd appreciated his short, sweet, and heartfelt sentiment.
OFPA vice president and OVFD assistant chief Ernie Doshier was chair of the new Fire Hall's building committee. He expressed thanks and amazement that such a small community of people could raise so much money so quickly.
Paul Henriques of Premiere Contracting, Inc. spoke about his admiration for volunteer firefighters, whom he called "heroes."
Tommy and Julia did some ceremonial digging with golden shovels, making the groundbreaking official to great applause.
The whole scene was touching and lovely and made you feel proud to be a part of this great community. As we stood around visiting and basking in the good feelings afterward, it suddenly became obvious that there was a work crew there with work to do and we revelers were plainly in their way. Before the ceremonial photo-taking and congratulating was done, Premiere Contracting's builders were hard at it, giving the dream of a new Fire Hall a solid foundation.
We left the happy scene at the construction site just as the terrible events were beginning to unfold in Boston. As I watched the news footage from Boston and Texas over the next week,
I was ever more impressed by and appreciative of our nation's first responders, be they volunteers or paid professionals. I was reminded that our OFVD was first on the scene of a deadly explosion here on Ocracoke, and acted bravely in the face of it. The 32 men and women of OVFD respond all hours of the day and night to fires, EMT calls, medi-vacs, and other emergencies.
In the immortal words of author Kurt Vonnegut, “The most stirring symbol of man’s humanity toward man that I can think of is a fire truck.”
For more information about the new Fire Hall and OVFD, please check out Jenny Scarborough's story from January.
OFPA sent out this notice today:
We would like to thank everyone that attended the groundbreaking for the new station. It has been a long time coming, but with the donation of the land by the Hutcherson family we had a great start. Bingo, the Firemen’s Ball, fundraising letters, collection jars, and donations from people on and off the island have made this new station possible. Thanks to all.
Remember to put the Firemen’s Ball on your calendar for May 25th. For more information on the Ball and how to support it, check our web site www.ocracokevfd.org.
