ROUND MOUNTAIN, Texas — Numbers from the National Fire Protection Association show that as of 2018, volunteer firefighters made up more than two-thirds of all firefighters in the country. In spite of that data, funding, recruitment and retention remain some of the biggest challenges for volunteer fire departments.

For that reason, members of the Round Mountain community are celebrating the opening of a new operating base, concluding nearly six years of work. It’s a major change for the department, which before this space opened its doors lacked basics like running water or air conditioning.

“Unlike at the old station we actually have a water supply now,” said RMVFD President Richard Stumpf.

An active water supply means functional bathrooms, showers, and thanks to an on-site pump no more trips down the road to nearby Johnson City to refill tankers.

“That pump will deliver 250 gallons a minute so we'll be able to fill our biggest truck, the 2,000 gallon tender in less than 10 minutes,” said Stumpf.

When Spectrum News 1 first traveled to the department's old station, the Round Mountain Volunteer Fire Department was operating out of an old hay shed near a gas service station with room for only four out of the department's six emergency vehicles, which meant two were always in a member's home driveway. The new station, however, has room to spare with space for two more vehicles in the future. 

The bay area of the station also comes equipped with electric door openers, an investment which promises to cut down on response times since first responders had to manually open and close the bay doors at the previous station.

Additionally, the opening of this new station comes at a critical time for the department with some 2,000 acres of the surrounding area gearing up to be developed into neighborhood subdivisions.

“There's another surge of growth coming, and on a larger scale than what we've seen in the past,” said Stumpf.

The price tag for the new space clocked in at around $944,000. The local emergency services district took out an $800,000 bank loan to help pay for it but the department was responsible for securing the rest of the $144,000. Originally, leaders with the RMVFD planned on hosting a series of fundraisers to help meet that goal until the pandemic gripped the world which meant social events were taken out of the equation.

With social restrictions in place, leaders were forced to get creative to meet those fundraising goals, and it meant going back to basics. RMVFD leadership opted to send out mailers, directly pleading with the community to help support the department's efforts to build the new station.

The community answered the call.

“It was just the number of them that were coming in, which meant that so many people accepted and supported our efforts here,” said Stumpf.

Stumpf says there wasn't one single large benefactor, but rather a large volume of small donors around the community who offered help.

“Made us realize that everything we're doing is so worthwhile,” he said.

The department still has to fundraise to keep up with a growing community and Stumpf says there will be efforts to recruit more members as neighborhoods get built in the area.

Until then, the work doesn't stop or slow down for the men and women of the Round Mountain Volunteer Fire Department.