During last night’s meeting of the Vance County Board of Commissioners, County Manager Jerry Ayscue reported to board members that the Vance County Fire Department received a state fire inspection in July.
According to Ayscue, the state inspector found that in four calls, the county fire department was one person short in terms of having certified firefighting personnel from the county roster responding to the fire.
Ayscue added that those certified personnel may come to the scene of a fire by means other than the fire engine, except for the firefighter driving the engine.
The minimum response to a structure fire is one engine and four certified firefighters. A standard response is two engines and eight firefighters.
“We had less than that,” Ayscue said.
Ayscue stated that the county has responsibility for the Golden Belt fire district. He said that in the case of a structure fire in that district, it is standard protocol to send the county fire department as well as the two closest volunteer fire departments to the call.
On those calls, Ayscue said, there may have been a dozen or fifteen certified firefighters on the scene fighting the fire. He acknowledged, however, that only three on the county roster were present.
Ayscue said it was found that the chief and assistant chiefs were not reported, and that credit was given for them, as they are certified, but it only takes one instance to be in violation.
The county manager reported that the state wants “corrective action”, with the caveat that the state did not use that terminology.
The exact phrasing the state used may be read in a letter from the State Department of Insurance, Office of the State Fire Marshall here. This letter was published by Home in Henderson originally on August 24 when this issue first came to light.
Ayscue told members that he would come back during the October commission meeting with a formal response to the state.
The county manager explained that the county runs a joint fire and ambulance department.
“We’re busy,” he said.
Ayscue also said that the combined department puts a drain on the county budget.
The manager reported that Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson had requested six positions for the department in the most recent budget. He reminded the board that they had appropriated funds for two positions. He said that he had been hoping to add two positions per year for three years to bring Station Three up to full staffing.
Station Three has three ambulances and one fire engine. Ambulances run two-person teams, while fire engines require four firefighters. A full compliment at Station Three would be ten fire/rescue workers on shift at any given time.
Ayscue speculated that he and Wilkerson would probably come back to the commission with a recommendation to accelerate the hiring plan by a year. He said that other aspects of the situation would be looked at, but did not elaborate.
The county manager noted that if the problem is not corrected, the Golden Belt could lose its current classification, a 9S, the lowest fire insurance rating commanding the highest premiums.
“Not the direction we want to go,” Ayscue said.
The next insurance rating is a 10, which is indicative of no fire protection. This would cause fire insurance premiums to rise, and could cause certain establishments to be unable to obtain fire insurance, effectively putting them out of business.
County Commissioner Danny Wright asked if the state would accept the accelerated hiring plan, which entails hiring three more personnel this year and three next year. Ayscue indicated that they would.
County Commissioner Tommy Hester asked if there are twelve months to correct the situation. Ayscue replied that the state would be monitoring closely for that time.
In futher discussion, the county manager indicated that it is impossible for any fire department to staff to cover every possible situation.
Hester asked if the county staff was working to correct the problem in six or seven months, to allow for extra time. Ayscue indicated that Wilkerson has already done things to positively impact the situation already, although he did not specify.
Commissioner Terry Garrison asked how the move of the county ambulance from the fire station on Dabney Drive to Station Three had affected the situation. The county manager answered that it had helped some.
Board member Deborah Brown asked about the status of the two new positions that had been authorized. Wilkerson indicated that those positions were currently being recruited.
Brown said that once Station Three is “back on track”, she hoped the commission would have a “plan of action” to take “us” below the “9”.
“9 is still unsatisfactory to me,” she said.