"We need a tanker bad," Boones Mill, VA, Fire Chief Says

BOONES MILL — The Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department and Franklin County Public Safety have had a monthslong debate over funding for a new tanker truck. The two sides recognize the need for a new vehicle to better serve the community, but have been unable to come to an agreement.

"We are down at the moment," Chief Riley Peters said. "We need a tanker bad."

Boones Mill has spent the last few months using a replacement tanker truck provided by the county after the department's previous truck was totaled in a wreck in February. Peters said the current truck does not fit the department or the community's needs.

The department has been preparing for three years to request funding for a new tanker truck. Before it was totaled, the previous tanker truck was nearly 30 years old and nearing the end of its service life.

The replacement tanker truck provided by Franklin County Public Safety is nearly as old as the previous tanker and has been to a mechanic twice for repairs since it arrived, Peters said. It had sat unused by the county until it was put back into service for Boones Mill.

"The red lights work on it and it pumps water, that's about it," said Carey Altice, the department's assistant chief. He added the truck does not have a siren or radio equipped.

Franklin County funds a majority of the vehicles and equipment used by volunteer fire and rescue departments around the county. The public safety department oversees the funding allocated by the Franklin County Board of Supervisors.

Volunteer departments do fund some of their own equipment, but those purchases have become more and more difficult as the cost of fire and rescue apparatus have skyrocketed. The cost of most fire trucks has more than doubled since 2010.

Franklin County funds the purchase of new emergency vehicles for volunteer fire departments on a rotation based on needs. Boones Mill was supposed to be next on the list for funding in the last budget cycle with what they believed was a budget of $850,000 provided by the county, Peters said.

Discussions began between Franklin County Public Safety and the Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department for a new tanker truck started last year. Those discussions started to devolve, even before the loss of their previous tanker truck, when the department requested funding in January for a custom chassis replacement priced at $1.01 million.

Peters said the department requested an additional $100,000 over the $850,000 the county had budgeted. The remaining $60,000 would have been contributed out of the fire department's own funds.

Franklin County's deputy county administrator, Steve Sandy, said Boones Mill's request for $1.01 million was not feasible for the county. The county rejected the proposal.

"The cost of what they proposed was just way beyond the budget of what we had available," Sandy said.

When Boones Mill lost its tanker truck in a wreck in February, they suggested using a portion of the insurance settlement estimated at around $350,000 to be used for a new vehicle in addition to the $850,000 budgeted. Sandy said volunteer departments do not traditionally get the insurance settlement for a wrecked vehicle since the vehicles are titled to the county.

Soon after the previous tanker truck was totaled, the Franklin County Board of Supervisors approved nearly $650,000 to purchase a new tanker from a list of available trucks found by Franklin County Public Safety Chief Michael Fowler. He said the goal was to quickly provide them with a truck to fit their needs.

According to Peters, the vehicles offered did not meet the needs of the department. He said the vehicles were also pushed on the department without any input from him or his members.

"It was clearly not adequate," said Steve Mills, a lieutenant with the department who has served for 44 years. "I imagine public safety's sentiment toward us keeps going down and down because we have been resisting being forced into something we think is a major step backward."

Peters said they are only requesting a new tanker truck with the same specifications of what they had in their previous truck. He does not want to be provided with a truck that is inferior to the one the department had.

Fire trucks have seen a significant increase in costs over the past 30 years, specifically in the past decade, with costs more than doubling. The Boones Mill tanker truck purchased in 1997 cost approximately $350,000.

Sandy said the county tries to purchase a new fire truck each year to replace the aging fleet. Even when a new vehicle is purchased, he said it can take up to two years before a truck is constructed and delivered.

Franklin County saw the immediate need for a new tanker truck at Boones Mill and provided the list of available trucks, Sandy said. When that was turned down, they were provided with a tanker truck the county owned that was not being used by any other department.

The county also moved on to the next volunteer fire department on the list. Henry Volunteer Fire Department provided the county with a proposal to purchase a new fire apparatus for $850,000 that was accepted for funding.

Peters said the county should have been willing to include a portion of the $350,000 from the insurance settlement to add to the budgeted $850,000 for a new tanker truck to fit their needs. He added that Boones Mill put in nearly half of the cost of the tanker when it was purchased in 1997.

Fowler said the insurance settlement was used by the county along with some other allocated public safety funds to eliminate loan payments on multiple vehicles. The decision is expected to save the county more than $200,000 annually in apparatus loan payments.

Sandy also pointed out that Franklin County provides significant funding for each of the volunteer fire departments each year. Last year funding for Boones Mill totaled $129,000, he said.

Fowler has said Boones Mill's request for a custom chassis tanker truck is impractical as its primary mission is to transport water. It is more of a support vehicle for other fire trucks such as a fire engine. He added that a majority of the department's calls for service are for motor vehicle accidents along U.S. 220.

Mills argues that the department need for a tanker truck goes beyond just transporting water. Their goal is to purchase a tanker truck similar to one recently put into service by the Rocky Mount Fire Department with funding assistance from Franklin County. That vehicle can also serve as a fire engine that can respond first to a fire and transport volunteers.

Fowler said his concern is a larger truck could be a safety issue for the department. Much of the rural area surrounding Boones Mill has narrow roads, which contributed to the wreck of the previous tanker in February when it slid off a narrow road when it moved onto the shoulder to avoid large utility vehicles. He added that it could be dangerous to have so many volunteers on a vehicle if it were to wreck again.

"That is a real fear and concern of mine," Fowler said.

Fowler also questioned the precedent set by allowing the purchase of a fire truck for one of the county's volunteer fire departments that cost in excess of $1 million. Other departments would request something similar when their turn comes up in the rotation.

Fowler said the county will have a guideline of standard features for fire apparatus moving forward that will fit the needs of the county. If a volunteer fire department wants to purchase a vehicle above the county-approved standard, they will be required to fund the additional costs themselves.

Hired last year as the new chief overseeing public safety, Fowler said he has made a commitment to be fiscally responsible with the county's funds and to keep the county's volunteers safe.

Mills said Boones Mill doesn't agree with the "one size fits all" proposal by Fowler. He said some volunteer fire departments may have different needs based on the community. He added that the department is not asking for anything beyond what it needs to serve the community.

Altice added that the current disagreement between their department and the county is taking focus away from their role of protecting the community. The delay is also leaving the community without the equipment it needs.

"We shouldn't be fighting for multiple years for an apparatus that our citizens need," Altice said.

With the county funds appropriated for Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department now earmarked for the Henry Volunteer Fire Department, there is still the question of funding for a tanker truck. Fowler has proposed selling the department's tower truck to possibly fund the purchase of a new tanker. That proposal was declined by the department, according to Peters.

After hearing of the proposal, the Boones Mill Town Council wrote a resolution in August supporting maintaining the tower truck at the Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department. The town provides $2,000 in additional funding for the fire department.

Fowler said the department's tower truck was purchased in 2017 and in that time has only been on 65 calls for service. Out of those, he said 20 were calls to be used at parades and festivals.

Sandy said the tower truck could be sold for between $700,000 and $900,000. The resale value is nearly the same as what the county paid for it due to the rising cost of the equipment.

Peters said the tower truck is necessary as Boones Mill and the surrounding community grow. He expects additional businesses to come to Summit View Business Park that could further justify a tower truck in the future.

"We are going to keep the tower truck," Peters said. He added that the department is already down a tanker truck and the county is now threatening to take away a second vehicle.

Fowler said the Rocky Mount Fire Department has a tower truck nearby, also recently purchased by the town with some funding assistance from the county. That tower truck could respond to a call as fast, if not faster, than Boones Mill, he added.

According to Fowler, there is currently no need for a tower truck in Boones Mill. If there is a need in the future as Summit View Business Park grows, they can look into purchasing a truck at that time.

Despite what they see as significant setbacks from the county, Peters said they will continue to do the best for the community with the equipment they have available. He said the department is unwilling to accept equipment from the county that doesn't meet the needs of the volunteers and the community.

"I can't see us going backward," Peters said.

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