Department holds press conference to discuss recent changes, closes meeting to court officials, public [Middlesboro Daily News, Ky.]

Dec. 27--PAGE, Ky. -- The embattled Bell County Volunteer Fire Department (BCVFD) sat down with several members of the media on Monday afternoon to discuss recent happenings within the department and the ongoing battle the department has waged against the Bell County Fiscal Court.

Absent from the meeting was Bell County Judge Executive Albey Brock, who said he and former treasurer for the organization, Bernadine Mills, were turned away at the doors. They were told that the meeting, which was held at the BCVFD Headquarters on Hwy. 119, was private and were asked to leave the property.

Two of the department's nine fire stations were closed in mid-December, the Arjay and the Colmar stations. The department says that this was the eventual result of a lack of funding from the Bell County Fiscal Court. The two particular stations were chosen for closure, according to the department, based on the number of runs made from those departments and the number of volunteers or fire department members who respond from those stations.

Assistant Fire Chief David Miracle, who spoke to the media on behalf of the Board of Directors, said that the closure of those two stations would save the department money, although it is unclear how.

The BCVFD submits receipts to the Bell County Fiscal Court on a monthly basis and receives reimbursement for legitimate costs they incur. Miracle said that by locking the doors to the Colmar and Arjay stations, and by removing the firetrucks from those facilities, the department will save on insurance and utilities costs, but then admitted that the BCVFD had never been denied reimbursement for insurance or utility bills paid.

"It takes more than that to run a fire station," Miracle insisted. For instance, he said that the department's vehicles must be serviced, and said that the fiscal court had denied reimbursement for labor (but not equipment) on vehicle repairs in the past.

"They want us to send our vehicles to the county garage and say they'll work on our vehicles for free, but we just can't do that," Miracle said.

"We have made countless efforts to try to save them money over the years," Judge Brock retorted. "The Fiscal Court has never denied a legitimate expense." Brock says that he's arranged for work release inmates to mow the grass at the different stations, has offered free labor for things such as vehicle repairs, among other services that the county has offered.

In fact, it is unclear how the closure of the two stations changes anything in terms of normal operations for the BCVFD. Miracle stated on Monday that only one volunteer/member lived in the Colmar community and would have responded from that station and there are no volunteers/members in the Arjay community. When asked what would happen differently now if there were an emergency call in the Colmar community as opposed to one month ago when the station was open, Miracle said that there would likely be no difference. He said that someone would probably still have responded from another community and even brought a firetruck from another community.

The closures could have grave implications for homeowners in the two communities, unfortunately. Although Miracle assures the public that response time to fires will remain virtually unchanged and vows "to protect the people, do the best job we can, with what we've got to work with," insurance rates could rise for homeowners who live in communities without a fire station.

If the stations remained closed, homeowners in Colmar and Arjay will see their insurance classification go from a "Class 9" to a "Class 10". "Class 9" property is in a community with minimal fire protection and "Class 10" property has no fire protection. Simply put, this could mean that homeowner insurance rates could be on the rise if this situation is not resolved.

Although a lack of volunteers/members was cited as a concern for the department, the department does not hold membership drives or notify the public of their regular meetings. Miracle claimed that the public is aware of their meetings, said their meetings are open to the public and then informed the media that they have a website, but did not give that web address.

Miracle reiterated at the press conference that "closing the stations has not been a 'knee jerk' response," and went on to say that, in spite of the changes in funding, "I think we should be commended for keeping the stations open as long as we have."

Both the President and the Fire Chief for the BCVFD, Roy Amburgey and Rodney Wilder, have indicated that they will officially resign from their posts at the department's next regular board meeting.

Brandy Calvert is the editor for the Middlesboro Daily News. Contact her at [email protected].

___

(c)2011 the Middlesboro Daily News (Middlesboro, Ky.)

Visit the Middlesboro Daily News (Middlesboro, Ky.) at www.middlesborodailynews.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services