PORT MORIEN, N.S. -- From the road, the Port Morien volunteer fire station looks to be in good shape, but underneath, the structure tells a different story.

"We have part of the inside of the garage cordoned off," said Chief James Bates of the Port Morien Volunteer Fire Department. "We have to be diligent to make sure we're not putting weight in that area of the garage because we have nothing underneath to support it."

Bates says the department has been dealing with subsidence issues for about three years now.

Despite efforts to fill in the gap beneath the garage, the earth continues to erode. It’s causing the foundation to crack, walls inside to divide and mold to form where moisture is getting in.

"The issue here is very significant," said Michael Seth, the director of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Fire and Emergency Services, who viewed the damage first-hand.

He says the concern is firefighters being able to do their job properly when needed.

"Essentially, the building is falling into the ground," Seth said. "If we don’t do something about it somebody is going to get hurt."

A new station would cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars -- money a volunteer department can't afford on their own.

A recent study by a local engineering firm says the current building is beyond repair. 

"The three levels of government have to be involved and if the federal and provincial government come to the table, then of course the CBRM has to come up with the money to fund it as well," said Cape Breton Regional Coun. James Edwards.

For more than 70 years, residents of Port Morien have relied on volunteers in the case of an emergency. Now those volunteers are asking for help - and hoping it won't take long for that call to be answered.

"We want to make sure when we walk into that building that our equipment is not sitting in the back of a cavern where it's given way," Bates said.

The issue will be brought up at council in the coming days, but it's one the fire chief says needs to be addressed now, before the ground consumes a vital service for this community.