Maryland Volunteer Fire Department in Foreclosure

In what may be an indication of things to come, an Illinois Bank has filed suit to liquidate the assets of an active Maryland volunteer fire department. If successful, the suit would authorize the auctioning of the fire station, apparatus, and equipment, and serve as the death knell for the McCoole Fire and Rescue Department.

The Marquette Bank of Cook County, Illinois filed suit in US District Court after the fire company defaulted on a $624,000 loan. The fire department receives a $33,000 a year county stipend, supplemented by fundraising. According to Fire Chief Charles E. Pearce Jr., the department’s bingo that one time brought in $270,000 a year, now brings in $121,000.

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