HARROGATE, Tenn. - It's been two years in the making and with help from the Cumberland Gap volunteer fire department -the city of Harrogate now has its own volunteer fire establishment, with 14 members and growing.

“It was February two years ago that Harrogate had some decisions to make and they were trying to figure out how to better the fire coverage and response time,” said John Adams. “The best alternative they came up with was to have their own volunteer fire department.”

Adams is the fire chief for the town of Cumberland Gap VFD, as well as Harrogate VFD. He has been instrumental in helping the city of Harrogate get all the ground work laid in bringing the VFD to the city.

“What we done was kind of joined together, Cumberland Gap and Harrogate pledged to help each other. Cumberland Gap has a lot of the equipment and we thought we could help them get going and Harrogate has more people, so we get benefit of having more members and they get the benefit of our equipment so it all works out good,” he said. "”Anytime two cities can work together like that, it can work out good for everybody.”

Not anyone can just jump up and start a fire department, said Adams. Nowadays, the proper paper work has to be filed and basically, a city or group must request permission from the state to start a department and if granted, the state fire marshal will grant a permit.

Adams said Harrogate had applied for a grant to purchase a fire truck for the last two years and had been denied both times. He said while they still do not understand why they got turned down, he believes it could have been a lack of statistics.

Simply put, there were not enough reports on wrecks, calls, fires, false alarms, and other calls to show the state enough activity was going on to prompt the need for the department. The city of Harrogate went ahead and purchased two fire trucks and now, Adams said every single thing that goes on is being recorded.

“It'll help get the stats up and help Harrogate in getting some grant money.”

More than three weeks ago, Lincoln Memorial University and the Claiborne County Board of Education donated property for the future home of the Harrogate VFD. The property is located less than a mile along side Highway 63 and is marked with a huge red sign.

Until that station is constructedy, the one tanker and one pumper truck are parked in a temporary fire hall that is in between Shoneys and the gas station.

Adams said the new fire station, once built, will be about 6,000 square-feet. Claiborne EMS is in the process now of applying for a grant to build an additional 5,000 square foot building on the same piece of property. Once the station is completed, the department plans to build a permanent landing zone for medical air transport.

Right along side Adams in command is Deputy Chief Gary Rose.

Rose himself has been involved with volunteer work for the past 10 years, including serving in the North Claiborne fire departments.

“There are a lot of things being done that wasn't being done before,” said Rose. “I think it (VFD) will be run professionally, with integrity. I think it's going to be a great thing.”

For turnout gear, the Harrogate department hit a lucky jackpot by having more than 33 boxes of gear, helmets, and boots donated to them by the Johnson City fire department.

Adams explained that the departments in the tri-cities train together in mass sessions and most of their departments are given more grant money for turnout gear. It just so happened that Adams ran into one of the fire chiefs from a Johnson City unit who had just finished receiving a new shipment of turnout gear and was trying to figure out what to do with all the older outfits.

“It was unreal how much stuff there really was,” said Rose.

Rose said most turnout gear is worn down in training and now, with the donated gear, they could keep the newer outfits for actual fires and emergencies and train in the older gear. The department will also be seeking grants for brand-new gear for them in the next few months.