By Hugh G. Willett
Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee)
LOUDON, Tenn. — Questions and concerns about fire protection for Loudon County residents brought a standingroom only crowd to a County Commission workshop Monday night.
The commission heard from residents and commissioners concerned about fire protection in specific areas, such as those being vacated by the pullout of Rural/Metro, as well as the need for long term plans for upgrading the volunteer county rescue squad.
About 50 percent of the county residents are covered by adequate fi re protection from city fi re departments, said resident Mike Collins, however another 50 percent, mostly those in the county, are covered by the all volunteer rescue squad and are in need of back up.
Rural/Metro Fire Chief Jerry Harnish confi rmed his company will continue to cancel fire protection subscriptions in Loudon County as their one-year contracts expire. The company decided to pull out after the commission denied them an exclusive territory in the northern part of the county.
Commissioner Wayne Gardin, who represents the 5th and 6th Districts most affected by the Rural/Metro pullout, called on County Mayor Doyle Arp to consider appointing a committee that would look at improving the performance of the county rescue squad.
One possibility would be to change the status of the rescue squad from a 501(c) nonprofit organization to one that is able to solicit funds and sell subscriptions. Greenback currently uses a similar volunteer system funded by subscriptions.
Commissioner Don Miller, who represents the Tellico Village area, also called for a long-range plan to address the growing fi re protection needs. Miller said that a committee of Tellico Village residents had been working on such a plan for the last six months.
“To continue the experienced high level of performance, we recognize that the time will come when the call volume will exceed the ability or willingness of an all-volunteer organization to handle the load,” said Jim Fella, a Tellico Village resident who worked on the study.
The study group looked at fire protection models in various municipalities including Roane and Blount counties, Fella said. Among the options are a volunteer squad augmented by some paid members and subscription based services that could be provided by the rescue squad or a private organization such as Rural/Metro.
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