MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County Volunteer Fire Department continues its growth in the county, and one station will be celebrating that growth Tuesday, April 19.

The Funston Volunteer Fire Department will hold an open house beginning at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday to show off its newly renovated station. Light refreshments will be served.

The station is located on Highway 37, right across from Funston Baptist Church.

The firefighters have been in it just under a year, according to firefighter Joe Bishop.

Funston VFD has about 19 firefighters and three trucks, Bishop said. The chief is Jabo Knight, who could not be reached for this article.

The Westside Volunteer Fire Department is also finishing up work on its new station, but a completion date and possible open house have not yet been set.

Billy Glass, president of the Colquitt County Volunteer Fire Association, said there is now only one major area of Colquitt County not covered by a volunteer fire department. The area between Doerun and Bay does not currently have a volunteer fire department, but one can be added there with help from the community.

There are currently no plans to add a volunteer fire department in that area, but Glass said he would love to see one there. The community between Doerun and Bay, however, must pledge its support and desire to have a department there before one can be constructed.

A department between Doerun and Bay would bring Colquitt County’s total number of volunteer fire departments to 16, Glass said. The 15 current departments have all been state certified, and four of those are taking part in the Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rating for the first time.

Glass said the Livingston Bridge, New Elm, Rockyford and Westside volunteer fire departments are all receiving their first-time rating with the Colquitt County Volunteer Fire Department this year. The association is hoping the addition of the stations and equipment will improve the county’s ISO rating of 6/9 from 2000.

The results from the 2005 ISO rating have not yet been received, but Glass said he hopes to have either a 5/9 or even a 4/9. He hopes the results will be returned to the Colquitt County Volunteer Fire Department by the end of April, and a lower ISO rating will also mean insurance savings for the community.

Members of the community need to contact their insurance companies and ask for changes to their insurance rates should the ISO rating be lowered, Glass said. The 2000 ISO rating reduced home insurance premiums by more than $1 million for residents covered by the volunteer fire departments, but about 85 percent of Colquitt County residents did not ask their insurance companies to adjust their rates with the 2000 ISO rating.

Glass said federal grants from the Department of Homeland Security should help the ratings, as the volunteer fire departments have been able to purchase new equipment. The departments have received more than $1 million in grants, and they have applied for additional grants for more equipment.

Without the grants, Glass said the volunteer firefighters would never have had their own air-bottle filling stations. Eight of the 15 stations now have the ability to fill air bottles, and most volunteer firemen now have their own turnout gear and air packs.

Glass said the 186 members of the Colquitt County Volunteer Fire Association are currently going through their three-level training programs. No matter how valuable the new equipment can be to the association, it is the firefighters themselves that make all the difference for the Colquitt County volunteer fire departments.