Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department dissolved, merged

The Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department was dissolved Tuesday.

Career Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue personnel will staff the station on Route 15 in western Prince William. A mix of career and volunteer staff had operated the station prior to the takeover.

Ongoing personnel issues at the volunteer fire and rescue department prompted the county staff to step in and take over, said Prince William County Fire Chief Kevin McGee, who couldn’t discuss the personnel matters. Those issues were brought to his attention multiple times during joint meetings of career and volunteer staff.

“I couldn’t let what I heard in those meetings rest with me, so I went to the county executive and the process to merge the departments began,” said McGee.

Bylaws prevented McGee, in his position as the county’s career fire chief, from issuing corrective action to solve the personnel matter at the volunteer station, he said. Problems with staffing, and the volunteer department’s ability to dispatch help to residents promptly also contributed to the decision to merge, he added.

The decision to merge the department with the county after 38 years of service was made over two joint meetings, McGee told the county Board of Supervisors. Evergreen will hand over the keys to its fire trucks and other apparatus to the county with has taken over all administration of the building and property.

About 15 volunteers from Evergreen will be eligible to reapply to the county’s Fire and Rescue Department to continue to work as volunteers. Volunteers are still permitted to ride on apparatus with career staff, said McGee.

The Prince William County Board of Supervisors in 2014 approved the merging of what was then the Coles District Volunteer Fire Department with the county’s fire and rescue service. A total of three volunteers remain working at the Coles station.

The Evergreen takeover is not expected to cost any additional funds in this year’s remaining budget. McGee submitted his fiscal year 2017 budget, starting July 1,  to include full funding of Evergreen station as a career facility.

Dumfries Volunteer Fire Department Chief Miles Young said hopes this trend of merging and subsequent takeover of departments doesn’t continue.

“We’ve got a good mix of new volunteers who come and in and want to serve, and then we have a group of people who have been with us for a long time,” said Young.

Times are changing, commutes are longer, and fewer people are volunteering at area firehouses, officials on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors said. Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi ordered a review of current fire and rescue policies to avoid additional department mergers.

“The dissolution of Evergreen is a failure of leadership on this Board, on the fire and rescue organization, and the Evergreen department,” said Principi. “In Prince William, we pride ourselves on the volunteer system.”

“I have heard a lot of angst from volunteers about this,” said Occoquan District Supervisor Ruth Anderson. “Our volunteers should thrive, we need them.

Volunteers offset the cost of operating fire and rescue services in Prince William County. They work free on nights, weekends, and holidays while paid career staff work during days, on 24 hour medic units, and fill in gaps left open if volunteers are unable to staff a station.

Chairman At-large Corey Stewart said he supports a scheduled March meeting to review of the current fire and rescue policies, but added it is the job of elected officials to provide emergency services to all residents when they dial 911, provided by volunteer or career staff.