By Lanell Downs Smith

 The Honoraville Volunteer Fire Department boasts a rich history of serving northern Crenshaw County. On Aug. 17, community members gathered to celebrate the department’s service at an open house which showcased a new fire station.

Fire Chief Robert McGough said the building, constructed on land donated by Shirley Ryals, provides room for training, something that was lacking in the department’s former station.

“We didn’t have nearly enough room for training and other things we have to do,” McGough said. “We needed a lot bigger building. So, Mrs. Ryals, who lives across the road, offered to donate the land. We jumped out there and decided to build a new building.”

The all-volunteer department is supported mostly by fundraisers and McGough said the team had been saving for years toward a new structure. When Ryals offered land for the project in January 2023, the timing seemed right for the move.

“We have fundraised for everything for years,” McGough said. “For the last two or three years, we saved almost everything to go towards the building. We didn’t have enough to build it but we spent what we could and borrowed the rest.”

The station houses the department’s fire trucks and is equipped with a generator which provides power when needed during a severe weather event.

“When we have a storm, we’ll have power here,” McGough said. “And, we’ve got bathrooms with showers if the community needs a place to come and stay.”

According to McGough, the building is more than a place to house trucks and equipment; it is also a space for community members to gather in fellowship.

“It is more than just a fire station,” McGough said. “If groups need a place to meet they are more than welcome to use it.”

Longtime Honoraville resident Leesa Massey said the building and all of the equipment housed inside represent what hard work and dedication can accomplish when a small rural community comes together and works hard. 

“Around the walls are beautiful pictures of the earliest building and equipment from the beginning until present,” Massey said. “There are a few members, like Jimmy Massey and Charles Gillion, who have been a part of the fire department since it began. Some (Robert McGough and his son Randy McGough] are second- and third-generation fire fighters.

“Remember these men and women are all volunteers and do not get paid for what they do. They do it from the goodness of their hearts and love of their fellow man and our small community.”

For Robert McGough, the role of volunteer fireman is just one way he can serve the people living in the Honoraville community.

“[To be a volunteer firefighter], you’ve got to want to help people for no pay,” McGough said. “Our pay is when somebody tells us, ‘Thank you.’ When someone has an emergency, we go to  help them. When we hear, ‘Thank you,” that’s our pay. It’s not for everybody.

“It’s tough being a volunteer now. When we started, there wasn’t a whole lot of training. Now, there’s not a lot of difference between our department and one like Greenville or Montgomery fire departments because of everything we have to do. We just don’t get paid for it.”

The Honoraville Fire Department meets the first Monday of every month at 7 p.m. and welcomes community members looking to volunteer by joining their efforts.