[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S6367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   TRIBUTE TO CATONS CHAPEL-RICHARDSON COVE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise today to commend the Catons 
Chapel-Richardson Cove Volunteer Fire Department in Sevierville, TN, 
for their dedication and service to their community. In east 
Tennessee's Sevier County, the county-operated fire department is often 
unable to reach the remote areas of Catons Chapel and Richardson Cove 
in time to save a burning house or building--the distance is just too 
great. As a result, residents in those areas of the county obtained a 
State charter in 1992 to create a volunteer fire department that could 
better serve those communities.
  The fire department began with a handful of volunteers, who met in 
the basement of a local store to plant the development and cost of a 
fully operational fire department. With about $18,000 from the county 
to get started, the volunteers held small fundraisers and obtained a 
bank loan to raise the additional money they needed to construct a 
firehouse and purchase fire trucks and other equipment. A local 
resident donated land, and in November 1993, the community broke ground 
for the firehouse.
  Mr. President, not only did the Catons Chapel-Richardson Cove 
volunteers do much of the construction on the fire station themselves, 
they have built this entire department from the ground up. These 
volunteer firefighters are the true definition of public servants--they 
recognized a need in their community and have worked hard to satisfy 
it.
  Now, all of that work is beginning to pay off. The fire department 
has 22 volunteer firefighters, most whom have been trained by the 
Sevier Firefighters School. The department also has three fire trucks, 
including one that can pump more than 1,000 gallons of water per 
minute, protective clothing, air packs, and experience--volunteers from 
the Catons Chapel-Richardson Cove department have responded to and 
assisted on many calls in the area.
  Mr. President, the most important thing about these firefighters is 
that they are all volunteers. Every time the department receives a call 
to respond, these citizens leave their families and risk their lives to 
help save a neighbor's life and home or to prevent a local business 
from losing everything that it has. Mr. President, this country is full 
of dedicated public servants like the volunteers in Sevier County, but 
all too often, their work goes unnoticed. Today, I would like to 
recognize the firefighters in the Catons Chapel-Richardson Cove 
Volunteer Fire Department and the nine members of the department's 
volunteer advisory board and thank them for their efforts and dedicated 
service to their community.


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