Denise Membreno

Denise writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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• Where the cup is as enjoyable as the coffee
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The Moneta Volunteer Fire Department will get a boost to its coffers from the Smith Mountain Lake Charity Home Tour. Moneta Fire Chief Jeremiah Calhoun said this is the third time in four years the fire department has benefited from the Tour.

"It's going to help us purchase more equipment to better serve the community," said Calhoun.

About 75 to 80 percent of the department's budget comes from donations. The rest comes from the state and Bedford County. Calhoun said the department has seen a decline in donations in recent months because of the slow economy so the expected $20,000 coming from the Charity Home Tour proceeds helps, but more is needed because running a fire department is so expensive.

"That $20,000 seems like a lot to people, but just one fire truck costs $395,000 without the equipment on the truck," explained Calhoun. "So we have to put an additional $80,000 to $90,000 of equipment on the truck to be able to run calls."

Calhoun said that while the cost of the trucks is one expense, outfitting a fire fighter in the appropriate gear is another. The air tank a fire fighter wears on his or her back is $6,000. The turn-out gear can run up to $6,000.

The number of homes and businesses the Moneta Fire Department serves has increased dramatically in the past year. The addition of water and sewer to the area has spawned a flurry of development.

"We pretty much help out all over Bedford County -- that's 791 square miles," said Calhoun. "Our call volume in Moneta has increased three to four times in the last year. At the same time, people's ability to volunteer has decreased."

The Moneta Fire Department is an all-volunteer organization. It responds to fire calls, accidents and other emergency situations as needed.

Calhoun is a native of Moneta, and like the other volunteers he has to balance a paying job, family life and volunteering. Calhoun said most of his volunteers work in Lynchburg or Roanoke.

"We are very short-handed on volunteers these days," said Calhoun. "We've gone from 50 to 60 members in 1992 to 20 to 30 members today."

Calhoun and the department are in talks with the county to develop a plan to bring on paid fire fighters.

"We're having a hard time getting to the people in need. We see adding paid fire fighters as a way to serve the community better. You want the quickest response in emergencies."

Calhoun invited anyone interested in volunteering to stop by one of the fire stations to see what they do. Station 1 is located on Old Moneta Road. Station 2 is located on Single Block Road/Moneta Road, and Station 3 is located on Horse Shoe Bend Road/Diamond Hill Road.

If you are not interested in being a fire fighter, volunteers are needed to serve as support members, helping out at fundraisers, doing paperwork and helping maintain the equipment. Check out the department's Web site (www.monetafire.com) for more information.