Va. Supreme Court rules in favor of Dumfries rescue squad, overturns win for Board of Supervisors

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors does not have the power to dissolve the Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled today.

The decision overturns a decision by a lower Prince William County Circuit Court that previously ruled in the county’s favor, that asserted the rescue squad’s “very existence is at the whim of the county,” court documents state.

Prince Wiliam County filed a lawsuit against the rescue squad in 2018, asking a court to dissolve the organization and to allow it to redistribute its equipment and other assets for use at other fire stations around the county. The suit followed the county’s decision to remake its fire and rescue system, putting a larger emphasis on paid career staff over volunteers.

The Supreme Court disagreed today and ruled the mission of the Dumfries rescue squad was to”teach methods of safety” to the community, and that the relationship between the rescue squad and the county consisted only of its agreement to provide rescue services to the government, court documents state.

The court continued, “we emphasize, however, that the [Board of County Supervisors] lack of authority to dissolve [Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad’s] corporate status does not affect the Board’s power to cease contracting with the [rescue squad] for emergency medical services.”

Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad was located at 3800 Graham Park Road in Dumfries before its closure.  Originally founded in 1959, it was the only one of its kind in Prince William County. All other fire and rescue organizations incorporate both firefighting and emergency medical services under one roof.

In 2018, Prince William County dissolved its longstanding fire and rescue association — a governing board made up of multiple chiefs from volunteer stations from across the county, and the county’s career department fire and rescue chief  — and adopted a “system chief” model which consolidates power under the county’s career department chief.