WELLSBURG, N.Y. -- In 2011, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee brought devastation to much of the Southern Tier.
"The fire station went underwater," said Mayor Malcolm Coles, Wellsburg.
When the water finally receded, it left the Wellsburg Fire Department standing but a building that's only half usable.
"Everything is crammed into there," Coles said. "All the trucks are like touching each other. It's a hazard really for the fireman to work out of there."
After the flooding, FEMA came to the area to get a look at the damage. The agency approved more than $2 million of funding to relocate the flood-ravaged facility, but village officials soon saw that amount of funding wouldn't cover the cost of replacement.
"We've been back and forth with FEMA since June of 2012 trying to get them to what we call fully fund us," Coles said.
Three years later, that funding is finally on its way. FEMA has agreed to fund the more than $3 million for the project. The funding will help the village create a brand-new building at no cost to local taxpayers.
Coles said it will turn the fire department from a liability into an asset.
"Now when we do have a natural disaster of any kind, we'll be able to use our fire station for our residents because up until now whenever we've had a natural disaster, that's been the first building that's been under," he said.
A site for the new building has already been picked out. Officials said its completion will end years of frustrations.
"I'm very happy that we did finally get more money and like I said, it does appear that it will be enough to fully fund it, but other than that, it's been so long and so frustrating that I'm not going to get that warm fuzzy feeling," Coles said.
The village will hold a public meeting next Thursday to begin plans for the new station. It hopes to have the entire project complete by this time next year.