After an inspection by the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office on Mar. 18, in which several deficiencies were found in certification and testing of equipment, the Greenbrier Valley Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Talcott, Summers County, has voluntarily decided to cease all operations until all certification and testing issues are resolved.
After the decision to close by the fire department, all emergency services organizations within Summers County met at the Summers County EMS Office on Friday afternoon, Mar. 18, to formulate a plan to cover the Talcott response area during this closure. The emergency organizations represented at the meeting were: Summers County EOC – Director Steve Lipscomb, Summers County Sheriff’s Office – Sheriff Gary Wheeler, Summers County EMS – Director Ray Crewey, Forest Hill VFD – Chief Matthew Stalnaker, Green Sulphur District VFD – Chief Tom Scott, J.B. Nimitz VFD – Assistant Chief Michael Wright, Pipestem VFD – Chief Butch Mansfield, and personnel from the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office.
It was agreed by all parties present that the three volunteer fire departments bordering the Talcott Fire Service District will provide fire and other emergency services to the citizens of this area during the closure. The three border departments are: Summers County Vol. Fire Dept., Forest Hill Vol. Fire Dept., and Tri-County Vol. Fire. Dept. in Alderson. Additional coverage will be provided by Pipestem, Green Sulphur, J.B.Nimitz and the City of Hinton fire departments as needed.
All emergency service organizations in Summers County have pledged to assist the department during this difficult time and to assure the citizens of the area that they will have coverage in case of any emergency during the closure of their fire department.
Any questions about this situation may be directed to Summers County Commissioner, Tony Williams at the Summers County Court House at 304-466-7104.