Closure of Ruckersville, VA, Fire Department May Hit Residents' Wallets

Greene County residents may soon have to pay more money to insure their properties after the sudden and unexplained closure of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company.

Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company closed

Greene County has shuttered the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company, saying only that an outside agency has been brought on to look into claims against it.

More than a month after the closure was unannounced, it remains unclear why the county Board of Supervisors made the decision. An investigation into the fire company has been announced, but not described in detail, leaving residents and even officials speculating.

"The reason behind this closure an [sic] appears to be on what we have discovered personal squabbles and dislikes among our Board of Supervisors and possibly others within the Greene County’s Administration that is not fully clear to us of why," Stephen Fitch, spokesman for the Greene County Republican Committee, wrote in a June 12 email to Virginia's top fire marshal, Billy Hux. "It does show their lack of commitment to put public safety before their own agendas."

Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company

The Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company opened in 1948, making it the oldest fire department in Greene County.

What is known is that the closure means more than 1,300 residents and businesses along the U.S. 29 corridor in Ruckersville have limited access to fire coverage in case of an emergency.

“The ISO evaluation will come in and review the fire department apparatus and training records. But they also look at the water supply and look at dispatch, too,” Harold Richards, president of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company, told The Daily Progress.

The Insurance Services Office, or ISO, scores fire departments across the country based on their ability to suppress fires. Insurance companies depend on the rankings to help determine insurance rates for residences and businesses. The lower a community’s ranking, the better prepared it is to mitigate a fire. A higher ranking means that a community is not as prepared, and insurance companies can charge higher rates to customers for potential loss in a fire.

“The Ruckersville area has had a ranking of 5 out of 10. Five is a number we could be proud of as an all-volunteer department. We expect to have a score of 10 after next week’s evaluation because the ISO will find Ruckersville is not adequately covered by an open fire company. Ten is the worst ranking any community can have. People’s insurance rates are going to increase with this ranking,” Richards said.

With Ruckersville’s crew of roughly 20 volunteer firefighters unable to assist residents in an emergency, the Stanardsville and Dyke fire companies will have to step in. The two fire companies can take 15 to 20 minutes to mobilize and respond to the Ruckersville area.

“If a situation requires a ladder truck, the closest company that can assist is Hollymead in Albemarle, and that’s only if Hollymead isn’t using the ladder truck already. Ruckersville is the only company with a ladder truck in Greene,” said Richards.

After closing the fire company last month, Greene County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Catalano told concerned residents that the loss of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company would not imperil their lives.

Chairman Steve Catalano (copy)

Catalano

Richards and others disagree.

“You added a 15-to-20-minute delay on initial response. That’s enough time for a human being to be incinerated,” Fitch told the Board of Supervisors at its June 10 meeting.

“It’s the board’s moral and more-than-legal responsibility that the public is served effectively, safely and efficiently during times of emergency,” Catalano read from a prepared statement at the beginning of that meeting.

Catalano also said that the mutual aid offered by other agencies near Ruckersville, in addition to Stanardsville and Dyke, will provide sufficient coverage for the county.

“The board does not want to publicize details until the pending investigation is complete,” Catalano read, referring to the unexplained investigation into the fire company. “The fact-finding portion of this review shall be wrapped up by the beginning of next week. The complete review process should be wrapped up by the beginning of July. At that time, the board will act upon the findings of the independent review.”

The fire company has cooperated with and completed several stages of the review successfully, according to Catalano.

The Greene County Board of Supervisors unexpectedly closed the fire company May 13. The board did not inform the fire company until two days later. It was days later the public was informed of the development.

“The public is not at risk as Stanardsville Volunteer Fire Company [sic] and Dyke Volunteer Fire company are arranging their staffing to handle call volumes from Ruckersville’s first-due area. There is the same level of protection as before,” Catalano said in a previous statement after the public found out about the shuttered fire station.

Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company

The parking lot of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company in Greene County is seen on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

After the Ruckersville insurance evaluation, residents can expect to see property insurance rates rise in the coming year, according to Verisk, an ISO mitigation company which compiles information on fire services to help communities manage risk.

“A community can expect to see a change in insurance rates within six months to a year from an evaluation,” Verisk told The Daily Progress.

Richards is still holding out hope the board will agree to reopen the fire station.

“We know what we’re doing. We have several members who are paid firefighters in Charlottesville and come back home to Ruckersville and volunteer here. These are not country cowboys grabbing a hose and fighting fire,” said Richards.

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