All sides of the current debate over county fire protection should be able to agree on one thing: the end goal is to provide the county with the best services with the resources that are available.
Resources include money, of course, as well as equipment like fire trucks and the people needed to work – either paid staff or volunteers – at the 10 departments that cover the whole county.
What is at the center of the debate, however, is which path to take to arrive at that goal.
The county’s Public Safety Committee has presented a plan to the full board of commissioners set to be reviewed on Wednesday, June 14, as part of the budget approval process.
At stake, it seems, is the future of the Vance County Fire Department/Golden Belt: Will it continue to be the only independent fire department or will commissioners adopt the committee’s proposal to have it be staffed with paid staff and volunteers, like the other nine fire departments that serve the county?
Commissioner Dan Brummitt insists that the Golden Belt district will not be dismantled; rather, it simply will add volunteers to existing paid staff. The staff would be reduced by attrition – positions would not be filled when people retire, resign or otherwise leave their jobs.
The proposal includes having four departments respond to structure fires, a move that Brummitt said would help departments that may not have a full complement of firefighters during all shifts.
“The avenue that this committee and board are approaching is being reactive instead of proactive,” said Chris Wright, chief of the Vance County Fire Department. Wright also serves as the county’s fire marshal.
And there is little support among the volunteer departments for the committee’s proposal. Many of them submitted written statements to the county to express their opinions, wishes and needs.
Cokesbury Volunteer Fire Chief Adam Pegram said his department is not in favor of the restructure plan. The commissioners’ decision to allocate part-time positions for all volunteer fire departments has had a positive impact on the county’s ability to provide fire services, Pegram noted in a letter submitted to the county. He and his team “would like to see an increase of personnel to build on to the Fire Service instead of taking away from the force that’s already in action. I believe we should take the recommendations of the County Administration to look at increasing part-time funding in an effort to increase personnel to add to, versus stretching it thinner and keeping the allotted funding and increasing the pay rate of hourly staff,” he stated. He favors a longer-range plan over 5-10 years to ease into 24-hour staffing while maintaining the current county fire department as it is.
“The Vance County Fire Department is a big supporter for all other departments in many ways and delivers great support to all volunteers,” Pegram said.
The Bearpond Rural Fire Department’s board of directors weighed in and, instead of coming down on one side or the other, offered a series of ideas for the commissioners to consider, including paying part-time staff $17/hr. to be competitive with surrounding counties and increasing the $100,000 county allotment to help with equipment expenses.
“Our department has taken the burden of purchasing a ladder truck to better serve our industry and community and to lower our ISO rating at the time of the next inspection. We have more industries in our district than any other department,” the letter stated. Bearpond is the busiest department in the county, which translates to higher fuel costs, maintenance and upkeep. And if more firefighters complete more shifts, costs for utilities and more will increase as well.
If the county decides to place county personnel at Bearpond, “they must fall under Bearpond Rural Fire Department’s personnel policy and shall answer to the Chief and Assistant Chief.”
Powell Wilkins is the chief of Epsom Fire and Rescue and said he and his team are not in favor of the restructure plan, but do advocate for the $17/hr pay rate. They also like the idea of increasing staff at Hicksboro and Bearpond to attain 24/5 coverage. Wilkins stated that a long-range plan should be drafted to support the growth and work toward giving each county department 24/5 coverage.
Chad Blake, chief at Hicksboro, said his department wants more funding for the Thomas Road substation, which Blake said they’ve been asking for since 2009. So far, they have gotten a single $10,000 allotment. The Satterwhite Road substation, meanwhile, receives $33,000.
“We would like to request the same figure as them because we see it as the same. They are both substations and insurance rates will triple if they were not there,” he noted
Blake said the four-department response may be something that could work within the county. “This would be a start and then each year (we) build off of it.”
The firefighters at Drewry are “adamantly opposed” to the restructure plan, according to the letter they submitted to commissioners and said it is “clearly detrimental to the citizens of Vance County due to the lack of emergency responders that would be dispatched to assist at any given time.”
What they would support, said Chief Charles Holtzman, is a plan that would put in place 24-hour staffing in all volunteer departments and leaving the Vance County Fire Department as it is.
According to the letter from Drewry, a committee formed in August 2020 was given the task to develop a strategic plan for the departments. Having part-time staff in all departments was one item within that plan, and “it is time to continue moving forward with staffing our volunteer departments with 24-hour staffing. The safety of our community and the citizens and residents of Vance County will always be a top priority for the Drewry Volunteer Fire Department and we sincerely hope that the Board of Vance County Commissioners will strongly consider the information we have provided regarding our position with respect to the restructuring of the Vance County Fire Department.”
The 28 members of the Watkins Volunteer Fire Department along with its board of directors are not in favor of the proposed re-structure, stating that it would “severely disrupt” services and would make community members and visitor vulnerable. “We feel strongly that such drastic changes should be phased in over time and until the phase in is complete, the Vance County Fire Department should continue to operate and provide services” as it has for many years.
They advocated for a $17/hr. pay rate for part-timers and an increase in the $100,000 allotment from the county.
Watkins Chief Brian Clayton and Board President Joel Harris signed the letter to commissioners, which also included a suggestion that more a than one representative from the Vance County fire service should have a seat on the Fire Commission as well as on the Public Safety Committee
“We believe that the process of putting paid staff in the stations should continue as was started in 2012. During this time two departments were strategically picked to house personnel from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Several years later in 2019 all the departments were approved to have the same amount of staffing. To continue this trend with the goal of 24/7 staffing we believe that the next phase should be 24/7 people in two selected departments while maintaining the integrity of the Vance County Fire Department until ALL stations have 24/7 staffing. The remaining stations will receive 24/7 staffing over the next 10 years. “
In Kittrell, Chief Tony Dement said there is a need for updated living quarters, a kitchen remodel and a dedicated training room. The paid staff need a place that is apart from the common dayroom space.
That’s just for the employees – Dement said his department needs additional equipment, including an engine, a brush truck, pagers, a tanker and more to “give my citizens the coverage they need.”
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