County Closes Vol. Fire Department

[YeOldeEnjine]

Effective 04/18/2013 at 1800 hrs. The Emergency Services Board of Allegany County, MD placed the McCoole Fire & Rescue Department Out of Service......

 

The previous McCoole district has been split between the Rawlings and Potomac Fire Companies along with the City of Keyser, WV FD who will provide automatic Mutual Aid in the box areas within the McCoole town proper.

 

This action was not a total surprise and is viewed as a necessary step towards a new direction for fire protection in this area.

 

Further information as it becomes available.

 

Tim Wilson,

Former Asst. Chief

McCoole Fire & Rescue Dept.

 

[Guest]

My condolences on this, Tim. I hope you can find a way to preserve your former companies historical records.

[YeOldeEnjine]

Warren;

 

Arrangements for a new home for some items have already been made with the Museum in Lutherville. 

 

Other items are safely stored pending further outcome.

 

Tim

[Roto-Ray]

Tim,

 

That's got to be very hard, a VFD becomes a way of life for many of us.  Please let us know how things progress for you and the area.

[GA_Dave]

I realize that things work differently from State to State, but I have never lived in a place where a County Board had any authority to shut down a Fire Department.  Can someone please explain how this works? 

 

In the places I have lived, the FD operates under a State granted Charter, either through a municipality, such as a City FD, or as an incorporated entity, as many VFD's are.  Only the governing body (the State or the City) or the FD itself, can disolve the department.

 

I've never seen this kind of County-level authority before and I'm curious if this is only a Maryland thing. 

[YeOldeEnjine]

Dave;

 

The county per say CAN'T close down a Volunteer Fire Department as the FD's operate under a charter issued by the state, but under Code Home Rule, the County Board can set boundaries, set responses, and administer funding to the fire departments.

 

In this instance the County Emergency Services Board has set new boundaries for Rawlings and Potomac FD's effectively restricting McCoole to the area their temporary station occupies. The Board has also instructed dispatch to list the McCoole Engine/Rescue as out of service and unavailable to respond to calls in the county. They have also withheld the semi-annual county appropriation and state 508 money from McCoole.

 

There are many issues at McCoole that lead to the County's action, please see the link for the recent newspaper article..... http://times-news.com/local/x2094916839/...department

 

The County is working to establish fire service in the McCoole community, preferably a sub station of Rawlings or Potomac. The problem will be manpower.... the last 6 months / 62 incidents we were only averaging 2.5 members per call...

 

Tim W.

[GA_Dave]

Thanks, Tim.  The added info made the picture clearer.  I also did not realize that so few members were active.  It's a shame that it has come to this. 

[Roto-Ray]

Dave,

 

Virginia is a state in which the local elected officials have the right to dissolve a volunteer fire department and/or rescue squad.  In order to form, the department must present 20 members to be considered by the Board of Supervisors to receive their charter, and must maintain this staffing and response level.

 

From the Virginia Administrative Code:

§ 27-10. Dissolution of company.

 

Whenever the fire/EMS department of the city, town, or county to which any fire/EMS company belongs shall ascertain that such company has failed, for three months successively, to consist of twenty effective members in the case of a fire company, or ascertain that it has failed for the like period to have or keep in good and serviceable condition, an engine, hose, emergency medical services vehicle and equipment and other proper implements, or the governing body of the county, city or town for any reason deems it advisable, such governing body may dissolve the company.

 

(Code 1919, § 3136; 1970, c. 187; 2001, c. 142.)

 

The volunteer fire & rescue departments operate at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors exclusively.

 

In recent memory:

 

• 2009 - Prince William County dissolves the Gainesville District Volunteer Fire Department (Companies 4 & 24) for a number of issues, including the fire chief & his family living in the fire station.  PWC Fire & Rescue assumes control of the stations and apparatus.
   
  
  
  
• 2010 - Carroll County begins the process to dissolve the Hillsville Volunteer Rescue Squad (the HVRS will voluntairly dissolve in 2013).
   
  
  
  
• 2011 - After a series of "squabbles" with New Kent County, the Providence Forge Volunteer Rescue Squad elects to no longer respond to calls within the county.  The county appoints New Kent Fire Rescue as the primary EMS agency for the county.
   
  
  
  
• 2012 - Caroline County dissolves the Frog Level Volunteer Rescue Squad for failure to respond to calls.
   
  
  
  
• 2012 - Wythe County dissolves the Speedwell Volunteer Fire Department for not following county-established rules, and after a recruiting drive for all-new members, re-establishes the department a couple of months later.
   
  
  
  
• 2013 - Loudoun County dissolves the Neersville Volunteer Fire Department, as well as their designation "Company 16."  Their replacement fire station, already under construction, will be re-designated "Loudoun Heights Company 26" and will be a career station.
   
  
  
  
• And...just this week, a task force has recommended the dissolvment of another Prince William County volunteer fire department, Coles District (Co 6).  Most likely, the county will assume control of the existing building and apparatus.  A county-funded replacement fire station has already been budgeted and advertised for construction.
  
  
  

[YeOldeEnjine]

Update:

 

 

In 1938 a group of individuals from the town of McCoole, MD decided they needed a Fire Department in their small town, so in August of that year the McCoole Vol. Fire Department was born.

 

Fast forward to 1985 when a meeting was held by members of the Rawlings Lions Club to address a lack of fire protection in the Rawlings area that was made evident from the Rawlings Lane fire that burnt down a 100 year old former Governors home.

 

The members of the newly formed Rawlings Volunteer Fire Department were told by the state of Maryland they couldn't take any training thru the Maryland Fire Rescue Institute because they were not recognized as a fire department in the State of Maryland and they could not be recognized as a fire department because they did not have any trained members. The neighboring department in McCoole changed their by-laws to allow fifteen (15) members from Rawlings to join and take their MFRI basic fire training as McCoole members at the McCoole fire station. McCoole later also sold their first “new” fire engine for $1 to help get Rawlings started. 

 

Fast Forward again in 2013 after the McCoole Fire & Rescue Dept. was closed by Allegany County, another group of individuals felt the need for a continued Fire Service presence in the town of McCoole... with the help of their Brothers and Sisters from the Rawlings VFD a new station will open to provide that presence. Rawlings VFD Station #2 will open shortly in a leased facility within the town of McCoole.

 

As in the past, now Rawlings has modified their by-laws to allow fast tracking several firefighters and 3 paramedics, all former McCoole members to be accepted as members of the Rawlings Vol. Fire Dept. to staff the new station.

 

More information to follow!

 

Tim Wilson, Station #2 Asst. Chief

Rawlings Vol. Fire Dept.

[Roto-Ray]

Great news, Tim!

[YeOldeEnjine]

Thanks Taylor, we are starting from nothing... we are in the beg, borrow, make do with what we can have stage. All of the equipment and apparatus from McCoole Fire & Rescue is either in the hands of the banks or not accessible for our use.

 

So, I'm beating the bushes for equipment and a pumper now... We have a couple of options, but nothing that can serve long term. The former brush truck from Rawlings is out having a new motor dropped in it. After that, all it will need is re-equipped and to find a skid unit for it.

 

In a way I prefer starting over again with nothing. Just like your computer, sometimes you just have to wipe the hard disk and start from scratch........

 

Tim W.

[GA_Dave]

I'm happy to hear that a solution has been found and even happier that brother firefighters have stepped up to help solve the issue.  I wish all of you the best of luck and a bright future. 

[wvguy38]

If I'd known that you needed the equipment, we just gave away quite a bit of 3" to Albright VFD up in Preston County.

[YeOldeEnjine]

If I'd known that you needed the equipment, we just gave away quite a bit of 3" to Albright VFD up in Preston County.

 

That's ok Dusty, Hose we should be in good shape with...... for now. Our hands are tied for right now, we have to wait for the County to "bless" the proposal from Rawlings. Someone threw a wrench in works so now we have to do the dance....

[npfd801]

If you do develop some sort of list of needs, please let me know.  We don't have a lot of spare stuff sitting around, but there always seems to be something we don't use that could certainly be useful to someone else.

[smketrfdny]

Try Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund. They acquire anything from ropes to rigs for struggling FD's.

 

Good luck.

 

Stay safe, Brothers.

[YeOldeEnjine]

Thank you all for the offers and suggestions.

 

This evening we started outfitting members with gear and a couple of us have been running calls out of the main station at Rawlings for a couple of weeks now.

 

Public support is growing... interesting how one person being out of the picture improves the outlook and support offered from everybody.

 

We are still a couple of months away from having station #2 open as the County still has to formally "bless" the arrangement before we are recognized as a sub station and allowed to run.

 

Tim Wilson