Finances Force Closure of TX Volunteer Fire Department

After serving their community for 37 years, the volunteer firefighters of Chalk Bluff were forced to disband as their operating expenses exceeded their budget.

In recent years, the Chalk Bluff Volunteer Fire Department attempted to raise funds to cover operational costs but was unable to meet its obligations.

“The members of the Chalk Bluff Fire Department should be commended for their tireless efforts to continue to serve the community even in the face of adversity," Elm Mott Fire and Rescue Chief Casey Perry said in a statement to the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Surrounding departments will take over Chalk Bluff’s 17-square-mile service area, with one of the nearby departments considering placing one of its trucks in the Chalk Bluff station in Waco.

The Waco Tribune-Herald says that the Chalk Bluff financial woes also included the U.S. Department of Agriculture repossessing a pumper truck after the VFD defaulted on a loan two years ago.