As the equipment needed by the modern firefighter grows, so too does the hall in which it is housed. Firefighters in Carbon are hoping that will soon be true of their community.
    Plans are in the works to build a new fire hall in Carbon in the near future.
    “The trucks keep getting bigger, so we need bigger doors as well. We can barely get the trucks out of the hall. There isn’t a whole lot of room to turn,” said Carbon CAO Debra Grosfield. “We’ve outgrown it. We need something better.”
    The current fire hall in Carbon has only two bays, but the Fire Department has three trucks. The public works shop is immediately adjacent to the hall and the third fire truck occupies that space. The village tractor is left outside, even during the winter months, because the fire trucks need to be inside.
    “We’re not going for a huge Fire Hall, we just need something that the trucks will fit in,” said Grosfield.
    The challenge at the moment is to find space for a new hall.
    “We need a Fire Hall, but the biggest thing is we need a place for it, because we’re in the valley, there isn’t a lot of room to build,” said Grosfield. “We’re looking at a couple options in town, but we’re struggling to find a big enough parcel for what we want.”

    A Stettler man injured himself on Friday after his gun discharged in his motor vehicle while he was driving.
    Three Hills RCMP report that a 32-year-old male driver was travelling west on Highway 590, east of Highway 21. He had a loaded 30-06 rifle in the cab of his truck leaning against the passenger seat. The gun was pointed at the roof of the truck.
    While he was turning on the highway to head in an easterly direction on Highway 590, the gun slid and struck something in the truck causing it to fire.
    The round hit the driver in the stomach and travelled through the driver-side door.
    Witnesses who were driving behind the truck assisted while emergency crew attended.
    The driver was taken to the Red Deer Hospital with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. At the time his injuries were classified as critical, but he has since been deemed to be in stable condition.
    Three Hills RCMP said the matter is currently under investigation and charges of careless use of a firearm are pending.