Warwick Firefighters Constructing New Public Safety Building

WARWICK (CBS) -- After spending more than a decade fundraising, Warwick firefighters are now building a new public safety building without using taxpayer money.

Volunteers are working on raising the roof, and trusses have been put up at the site.

15 years ago, the town's Firemen's Association began raising money through spaghetti suppers, barbecues, and other fundraising efforts.

They were able to raise more than $100,000 toward the cause.

The town had sought to get a 2,000-gallon tanker truck by applying for a federal grant, but there was no place to store it.

So, Fire Lt. Bill Lyman says the choice was simple.

"We were really stuck with a position of we can have a 1952 station with a 1957 Dodge fire truck into the 21st century, or we could come up with a unique approach and really commit ourselves to doing this project," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker on Friday.

They plan to reapply for a federal grant to get a tanker truck.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Ben Parker Reports