FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Residents in one section of Franklin County will soon see something in their mailboxes that hasn’t been there in more than a decade: a fundraising appeal from the Burnt Chimney Volunteer Fire Department.
Fire Chief Lee Powell said the board decided to move forward with the campaign in response to rising costs, and flat funding from the county.
“The fact is we’re all taxpayers too,” Powell said. “We know how hard it is on the community on money. Things are tighter than they were 20 years ago.”
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The county helps with replacing vehicles and leaders are proposing a more consistent stream of funding to replace ambulances and fire apparatus. But day-to-day maintenance and gear replacement falls to the volunteer departments themselves. The proposed allocation for the Burnt Chimney department is $26,500, which is flat from last fiscal year.
“When you dial 911, we want to be able to come and show up to your house and be prepared with the right, proper equipment to do what we need to do,” Powell said.
For instance, replacing a firefighter’s gear worn when responding to calls can cost $5,000 apiece.
“The gear has a shelf life of 10 years, so we’re always trying to figure out within the 10 years how to cycle that gear out,” Powell told 10 News. “So we figured out that we have to buy at least three to four sets a year to cycle those out, so $15,000.”
And they’re also trying something new: using Zelle to bring in funds. It raised some questions in the community.
“As soon as we put it out on Facebook, I had several messages saying ‘is this a scam, is this legit?’ My phone was lighting up,” Powell said. “It’s a shame that it is legit but we have to answer those questions.”
Residents in the department’s service area will see the fundraising appeal in their mailboxes in the coming weeks. The county board of supervisors is expected to adopt next year’s budget in April.