Firefighters hoping to build more substations across Jackson County

By Dave Russell

Fire substations cost taxpayer money, but can save residents money, too. Not to mention lives and structures.

A substation is a satellite of a full fire station.

"A substation is essentially another fire station used to house fire apparatus and equipment, allowing for quicker response of resources in areas not near a main fire station," Jackson County Fire Marshal Michael Forbis said. "It allows the fire departments to deploy resources more quickly to the community."

That can save lives and homes. The saving money part comes from improving a rural area's insurance industry ratings.

"For example, the Greens Creek substation, there was a lot of area there that was considered unprotected by the insurance companies," he said.

Insurance classifications determine how much residents pay for homeowners insurance.

Structures within five miles of the responding station are in a Public Protection Classification of 5; between five and six miles away in 9e and more than six miles out are classified as 10, or unprotected.

"That does not mean that the fire departments in their area do not respond and protect their homes," said Zeb Holland, GIS specialist with the Fire Marshal's Office. "It's an insurance industry term."

The county offers an Online Fire Insurance District Lookup tool at www.jacksonnc.org/fire-marshal.

"I encourage every citizen to look at this website and make sure they are paying the proper amount on their homeowners or commercial policy," Forbis said. "For example in 2023 a Jackson County citizen realized they were paying an insurance premium based on PPC 10, the highest possible, although they were covered by the department as PPC 5, the lowest possible in rural areas. This had been going on since 2012, since the inception of the homeowners policy."

Correcting the information with their insurance company ended up saving the homeowner around $200 annually on the policy, Forbis said.

"Contact your insurance company if you have questions," he said.

More coverage needed

Savannah has three stations, Sylva has two and needs a third, Forbis said. Qualla and Balsam have two, Canada only has one and needs another. Cashiers now has six.

"There are no requirements for a substation except a climate controlled building housing an engine that carries at least 300 gallons of water and has a 750 gallons per minute pump," Holland said. "There isn't a requirement for a bathroom or concrete apron or anything fancy. To give the community the best coverage, and water distribution, departments like to have an engine and tanker in the substations."

A department must have 15 people on the roster to cover a main station and four additional people for every substation, Holland said.

County fire and emergency personnel are hoping to grow the number of substations in the county. Finding one or two level acres someone will donate can be tough in the mountains.

Even with the land, building a substation is not like going to the store and getting a sandwich.

"When Cashiers-Glenville built their first substation in the Glenville community in 1990, the cost for a two-bay building with a bathroom (sink and toilet) was around $50,000," Forbis said. "When Savannah Fire built the Greens Creek Substation in 2016 the cost was just under $500,000 for a four-bay building with bathroom, a small office and storage. Cashiers-Glenville FD just built their latest station this year; the cost for a two-bay building with a bathroom was just under $500,000."