State forestry grant boosts fire safety in Runaway Bay

LEESVILLE - A home on the lake doesn't ensure fire safety.

That's the worry homeowners in Leesville Lake's Runaway Bay subdivision have faced for several years.

A Virginia Department of Forestry grant is easing some of their concerns. On Wednesday, community leaders, forestry officials, and Altavista Volunteer Fire Company members celebrated the grant's finished products - two, 8,000-gallon, underground water cisterns and a lakefront dry hydrant.

All three will give firefighters access to the water needed to fight fires.

"We are real excited about it," said Roger Winters, president of Runaway Bay Homeowners Association, Inc.

Winters stressed that the cisterns and hydrant are for the subdivision and surrounding areas.

"This water will serve the whole community, not just Runaway Bay," he said, adding the grant is needed because of the wooded area and nearby homes.

"If those woods ever caught on fire, they're going to need all the water they can get," he said.

Earl Copes, who helped orchestrate the grant process, said the tanks and hydrant were installed last month.

Due to its remote location, getting water to Runaway Bay is tough. The nearest fire hydrant is 9.2 miles away.

"Residents from Runaway Bay subdivision wanted to know what we could do to improve fire safety in their area," said Copes, adding it takes firefighters 25 minutes to get to the community.

"When we get here, one of our concerns is the lack of water in the area," he added.

The water tanks and hydrant will solve that problem.

Volunteers can pump water from the cisterns or hydrant into a fire truck. The cisterns are simply refilled after they are used. The dry hydrant pumps water directly from the lake.

Copes said the grant created a "quick fix" to some of the residents' concerns.

"This was one of the easiest things to do to help with our concerns," he said.

Another possibility is placing a satellite fire station in the area, complete with fire trucks, but that proposal would take a lot of time and money.

Campbell County Forest Wardens Jim Jarvis and Michael Salyer said the money was awarded through a sub-grant from the National Fire Plan, designed to protect woodland home communities.

The money is distributed through the state's forestry department.

The two water cisterns cost $95,000 and the dry hydrant was $7,000. The grant called for a 20 percent match from the community, which came in the form of land to place the cisterns and volunteer project planning.

Copes said the new system will benefit the area.

"This is more of a pro-active approach," he said. "I'd rather meet this community now than after a disaster."

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