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Church Honors Local Heroes

The McDavid Volunteer Fire Department was honored Sunday for over 25 years of service to McDavid and surrounding communities.

Most of the department’s 18 members were on hand Sunday morning at Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in Bogia as the church devoted much of their morning worship service to recognizing “Station 9″. The event was Ray’s Chapel’s second annual event honoring the local volunteers. Children in the church presented each volunteer with a token of appreciation.

Prior to the formation of the McDavid VFD, calls in the McDavid area were answered by the Century Volunteer Fire Department.

“It’s a very comforting feeling when that first responder shows up,” Mark Digmon, Ray’s Chapel member, said. He pointed a few similarities between churches and fire departments.

“Both of us should be here to serve the community,” he said. “Both us of are here in a time of need.”

The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue answered 185 calls in the past year, the lowest number of runs among the county’s 15 volunteer stations. Most were medical and public assistance calls. There were no structure fire calls in the McDavid district during the last year, but the department did assist Century, Walnut Hill and Molino with several structure fire calls.

“We like that,” Eric Gilmore, McDavid chief, said of the department’s low call volume. While McDavid ran just 185 calls and other stations in the county, such as Ensley and Ferry Pass, ran over 1,500 each, the McDavid volunteers are just as prepared as any in the county.

In addition, Gilmore said the department has constructed several training areas behind their station where volunteers from Century, Walnut Hill and Molino meet for the four departments to train together.

“We are proud to serve the community,” the McDavid chief said.

“Why do some people run into danger instead of running away from it?” Ray’s Chapel Pastor Nathan Brown began his Sunday morning sermon.

“Sometimes risk is right…that is why we appreciate you guys today,” he told the McDavid volunteers.

The McDavid Volunteer Fire Department was incorporated in 1982 with a 1962 firetruck on loan from the Florida Division of Forestry. They purchased a 1948 Ford firetruck in 1983. The station was constructed on land purchased from what was then St. Regis Paper Company in 1984. Many more modern trucks and pieces of equipment were purchased over the years.

The department has 13 certified firefighters and two EMT’s. Members of the department include: Eric Gilmore, Elton Gilmore, Kenny Malone, Phyllis Malone, Ben Gilmore, Chris Kinley, Michelle Kinley, Larry Kinley, Matt Carter, Matt Gilmore, William Sheffield, Wayne Godwin, Marvin Lucas, Morgan Goetter, Eddie Gunter, Chris Hawkins, Dorothy Gunter, Alec Estes and Adam Estes.

Pictured top and bottom: Members of the McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue were honored Sunday morning by Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church. Pictured top inset: A child with a flag as Assistant Chief Elton Gilmore listens to Sunday morning’s service. Pictured bottom inset: Chief Eric Gilmore. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.