DONIPHAN — Ripley County volunteer fire departments are facing a crisis they hope the county will step in to help.
Three of the volunteer departments that serve the county are facing serious financial problems and need additional funding from county budgets to continue operating, officials from the departments recently told the Ripley County Commission.
One has already been forced to close due to bankruptcy, while two more are on the verge of going under, said Walter Wells, Poynor fire chief, when addressing the Aug. 17 commission meeting. He was joined at the meeting by Oxly fire chief Donald McNabb.
The departments are also struggling to find money to buy equipment for their volunteers.
The Little Black Fire Department recently had to close due to its inability to stay financially stable. Now, Pine-Bardley and Gatewood are close to doing the same, the men said.
Wells made the commissioners aware that the county is slowly losing fire departments due to lack of funding.
McNabb added, “We are coming to a point where we won’t have any fire departments in our region.”
Wells requested some of the Title III money the state gives the county to help fund the different fire departments.
“We desperately need supplies,” Wells said. “We don’t have GPS, our radios and communications are spotty, and our safety equipment needs replaced.”
The commissioners were unsure if that money could be allocated to the volunteer fire departments, since there are stringent requirements for how that money can be spent.
“Title III money is specifically given to counties to use for forestry protection. For example,” said presiding commissioner Jesse Roy as he read over the statutes of Title III, “if the county gives you money to buy a new truck, you can only use that truck to fight forest fires, or you can only be reimbursed the amount of time that truck has spent fighting forest fires.”
Roy was unsure whether these funds could go to the different fire departments, but Wells stated that as long as the department boundaries either touch the forest or have an agreement with the forest service, they can be given Title III funds.
“I promise you we will look into it,” eastern district commissioner Gary Emmons said. “We know that this is important and an issue that needs to be addressed.”
The Ripley County Commission meet every Wednesday at 9 a.m. and the public is welcome to attend.