West Virginia Firefighters Battle Fiscal Crisis

West Virginia’s volunteer fire departments are in financial trouble, forcing some to close, because annual fees aren’t keeping pace with the costs of firefighting, the state fire marshal says.

“We used to be able to say it would happen ‘one of these days’, but now we’re saying ‘it’s today’ — fire departments are in a crisis,” Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis Jr. told The Charleston Gazette.

Across the state, Lewis said fire stations are being forced to deal with a lack of funding and manpower and higher equipment costs. A firefighter’s air pack along costs nearly $4,000, compared with $1,500 15 years ago.

“If we can’t afford to equip firefighters safely and adequately, nobody is going to ask them to jeopardize their life,” Lewis said. “When you combine those things, what you’re going to see is some volunteer fire departments having to close. It’s already happening around the state.”

Lewis said nearly 90 percent of West Virginia is protected by volunteer fire departments, although the number of volunteers has declined in recent years.

As fire stations close, homeowners’ insurance will skyrocket, Lewis said.

“This is what the public isn’t being educated about,” Lewis said. “The fire service has to do that educating.”

Putnam County’s annual fire fee hasn’t been increased in more than 25 years. Teays Valley Volunteer Fire Chief John Smoot asked the Putnam County Commission last month to raise the fee, which averages about $30 a year for county residents.

Smoot said the fee brings in about $782,000 annually, but about twice that amount is needed to enable the county’s eight volunteer fire departments to continue to operate. He said about 84 percent of homeowners contribute to the fee.

In Berkeley County, Fire Board member Roger Williams said some of his county’s businesses saw their fire fees last year increase from $85 to $300 annually.

Another financial issue tearing at fire departments is workers compensation premiums.

Current rates are in effect until July 1 while legislators try to address safety and liability issues. The state put planned premium increases on hold last year after fire departments complained.

Earlier this year, a Marshall County volunteer fire department was ordered to stop answering calls because it failed to pay the premiums for its members, leaving other fire departments in Marshall and Ohio counties to handle calls in the area.

Topics Virginia West Virginia