Tazewell County’s new fire company begins, with a paid department to support it on the way

The chief of Tazewell County’s new fire company knows the old saying is true: firefighters hate two things: change and the way things are. 

That’s why there were questions when the county voted in December to merge its 11 separate fire departments into a single company and announced it would also employ paid, part-time staff in a new, centrally located department. Volunteers worried about working under new leadership, especially if stations would be shut down as a result. 

But having just a centrally located fire department would not work in Tazewell County, said Chief Russell Stowers. Stations are spread throughout the 520-square-mile county, tucked between mountains in mining communities and dotting sprawling farms. Having one nearby can be the difference between getting to an emergency in time or getting there too late, he said. 

“I told them we’re not doing this to shut down stations,” said Stowers. “We’re doing this to try to keep everybody open.”

On Oct. 15, the 11 departments officially became stations under the Tazewell County Volunteer Fire Co., a merger to help address challenges the volunteer system is facing, including member shortages, the need for increased funding and operational consistency. New fire chiefs will oversee three battalions and coordinate efforts in recruitment, equipment maintenance and training across stations.

The company is funded, in part, by a new tax on prepared meals in the county.

And soon, the county will release applications for the paid, part-time department, which will start running a three-person 24/7 engine sometime in the spring. Hiring part-time staff is a strategy that other counties have used, and they say it creates a more sustainable model, though they caution it can’t replace the volunteer system in sprawling, rural counties. 

A state study and a decade of planning to get to this point

When the new fire company became operational, the genius of it is that not much changed that day, said county Director of Public Safety Barry Brooks. 

Brooks has been working for the past decade to ready the departments across the county for this merger, planning off a “playbook” he was handed when hired. The 2012 study by state officials identified recommendations for the county’s first responder system, which started with hiring Brooks and continued along themes of organizational development, communications, personnel, training and budgeting. 

The state study recommended that the fire departments work under a centralized authority because there was a lack of uniformity and coordination across communities, said County Administrator Eric Young. 

During large events, there were learning curves when it came to different gear and training methods, so “it would be a lot better if it was streamlined … if the nozzle of the hose is already on the left side of the truck,” Young said. 

Brooks grew up in Pocahontas and then spent 24 years fighting fires in Tampa Bay, Florida, where you could “hardly swing a cat without hitting a paramedic or firefighter.” He worked in a predominantly career program, so when he returned home to see the volunteers who serve Tazewell County, he was amazed at what they were able to do without much money or paid members.

At the same time, the problems became apparent: Like other counties across the Southwest Virginia coalfields, population loss has hit Tazewell County as the mining industry has declined. By 2050, the county is projected to lose 26% of its population. 

Coupled with declining volunteerism nationwide, there have been staffing shortages, with remaining staff growing older. Equipment and facilities, too, are aging, while buying and building new is more expensive. 

When Brooks started in 2015, he began implementing changes that were immediately necessary: dispatching the closest three departments to any working fire and consolidating purchasing power across multiple departments. He also started financial incentives, including a personal property tax break on a vehicle and a stipend program to compensate volunteers for their time and gas mileage, which has steadily gone up to about $15 a call. 

Other changes he wanted to make, like having departments train alongside each other, didn’t stick without control over their operations, he said.

A centralized company would allow him to right-size each department to ensure each has the equipment it needs. There are also technical benefits to a merger, like being able to apply for grants as a single unit, as there is often a greater opportunity for funding with more calls logged. 

Earlier this month, Stowers went from station to station so members could sign onto the new roster, which was approved by the county on Oct. 6. 

Fire departments could opt into the new company and would only get county funding if they did. Individual volunteers could sign on or remain on the “legacy” side, which acts as an auxiliary to fundraise for their station but cannot respond to calls. 

All 11 stations joined the company, and 170 volunteers across them became members, Brooks said.

While exercising these options might have taken more time, autonomy is important, he said, even when it comes to the name of each department. Each will stay the same, but now all will be numbered one through 11. 

“I think the biggest problem was the unknown. They were worried, ‘How am I going to factor into this?’” Brooks said. “They all had questions, but I think we were able to design this in a manner where not a lot was changing except the organizational chart.”

New leadership and focus on recruitment, funded by a meals tax 

Brooks stood at a whiteboard in his office and outlined the new chain of command: Stowers left his longtime position as chief of the station in Clearfork, near the east end of the county, in May to lead the new company. Under him, there are now three battalion chiefs, over new central, northern and southern battalions, running parallel to U.S. 460. 

Each chief, paid part-time salaries, will staff three to four stations in their service area and respond to calls, especially helping coordinate larger responses. They will also take on different roles: One will oversee training, another will focus on equipment maintenance and the third will lead recruitment and retention efforts. 

Their priority is recruitment, then training, then updated equipment, in that order, Stowers said. 

“I don’t care how good of a fire department you have, how good of a truck you’ve got sitting at the station, how nice of equipment you got in there. … If you ain’t got people in there to wear that, you’re only as good as your membership, and so that’s Priority 1,” he said.

At any fairs and festivals, or even at Walmart, the company plans to ramp up recruitment, though Brooks knows it takes more to attract young people today. Even with older members, fire brigades need to work on retention — those who have long held pride in volunteering for free are now facing the realities of rising gas prices. Alongside the current incentives, Brooks said he is interested in implementing a 401(k)-style program, through which the county would match a certain amount of funds a volunteer sets aside. 

To pay for the firefighting efforts, the board of supervisors approved a meals tax last year, which put a 4.7% tax on prepared food and drinks and generates about $750,000 annually to invest into the new company. 

Local restaurants had some complaints about the tax, Young said, but the county felt it was one of the few tax options that would target tourists — while a revenue stream was sorely needed to keep up with expensive equipment costs. 

Brooks said that the money is coupled with the gaming tax revenue Tazewell County gets from Bristol’s Hard Rock Casino under a unique revenue-sharing agreement. The tax revenue is shared equally between 14 localities in far Southwest Virginia, allowing Tazewell County to put $1.1 million annually toward fire protection, Young said.

The funding has so far helped the county put $541,000 toward equipment for the new company, including vehicles for the new battalion chiefs, a new truck for the station in Abbs Valley and other essential apparatus, such as air packs.

Brooks said the county is working on writing news releases and social media posts to show Tazewell County residents where the extra money on their restaurant orders is going.

“I hate taxes as much as anybody, but I also don’t like to see a firefighter that doesn’t have the proper breathing apparatus. He’s already donating his time,” Brooks said.

Other counties with a paid department say it works with the right planning 

As part of the restructuring, Tazewell County will also have a part-time paid department to back up volunteer stations. The department’s primary response zone will be in North Tazewell, but the team will respond to any structure fire in the county –– maybe as the third truck to arrive or the first, depending on proximity, Brooks said. 

He added that he hopes to put out applications for positions in November for the three-person 24/7 engine, which would take about 30 part-time staff to fill. On a 24-hour shift, Brooks said, someone could make around $300 to $400, depending on certifications. 

It’s a move other counties in western Virginia have implemented, all in the interest of getting to emergencies quicker and more effectively. 

Officials said it’s a careful balance when integrating a paid department with a historic volunteer base. There are growing pains, but having paid staff strategically located during work hours is an important supplement. 

In Pulaski County, Chief Brandon Hamblin was hired in 2024 to oversee a group of paid members also aimed at combating declining volunteerism. They run every call across the county between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, responding to motor vehicle accidents and fires out of specially designed pickup trucks, one of which acts as a “pressure washer on steroids.” 

The average response time has been trimmed from 13 minutes to 8 minutes, Hamblin said, and the brigade will move to seven days a week in January. 

“That relationship has proven to be beneficial. We couldn’t operate without them,” he said of volunteer stations that still cover the county. “How you put that program together, how you make that mesh, it’s the success and failure of the program.”

In Wythe County, tax revenue from the Bristol casino is dedicated to public safety and helps hire part-time employees at the busiest station, Max Meadows Volunteer Fire Department in the east end of the county. The 11-mile stretch on which interstates 77 and 81 run together brings high call volume and the need for adequate coverage, said Matt Hankins, deputy county administrator. 

“It is a culture change. I have been a firefighter since 1988 … it is a change to go from a purely volunteer operation to bringing in some staff,” Hankins said. “[But] the paid staff will generally make the job of the volunteers easier.” 

Hankins said paid staff can deal with some of the administrative duties, like equipment repairs, that volunteers may not have the time for. Originally from Tazewell County, Hankins said he could see the benefit of having the paid staff to provide for the community. 

“They have been operating with a lot of legacy departments that may not have the population they once had,” he said. “While we value our traditions… sometimes change is necessary.” 

Eventually, Brooks said he hopes there will be three part-time stations situated throughout Tazewell County, “so that when you call 911, somebody’s coming.” 

The paid department will help support, not replace, volunteers

Brooks said the company is excited to begin the hiring process for the paid members, but officials are waiting on final cost estimates to renovate a building in North Tazewell, where the department will be housed. The meals and casino tax revenue will also fund the part-time department. 

He does not have an exact timeline for when it will begin operating but said he’s hoping for sometime next spring.

The paid department is intended to support, not replace, the volunteer system, Brooks and Stowers both emphasized. Brooks said officials plan to send applications directly to their volunteer base before expanding into neighboring towns and counties.

It’s a necessary addition, he said, as there have been times when multiple departments have been called out, and nobody showed up, meaning town departments like Tazewell and Bluefield have to respond. 

“Nighttime, we don’t have as much of a shortfall. Daytime, we’re hurting,” Stowers said, as much of the community is tied up during the work week. 

Triston and Brandi Brewster, a son and mother, are chief and assistant chief of the D.A.D Volunteer Fire Station, which serves the Dicks Creek, Amonate and Dry Fork communities in the northern part of the county. 

When they first heard about the merger, they worried that stations would be closed and new training requirements would limit their already short staff. Then they heard no closings were planned and one of the new battalion chiefs would make sure people were caught up on training. 

Now, they hope being part of the company will help them purchase new equipment — not brand new, but new to them — and they’re excited about the prospect of a paid department. Triston Brewster said he’d consider applying once he learns more about it.

“We all have jobs, we can’t always be here. At least we know someone is here to cover the area if we’re at work,” Brandi Brewster said. “It’ll be a very good peace of mind.” 

Stowers, 60, said he’s not sure how long he’ll stay in his new role as chief. He wants to spend more time with his granddaughters, who love riding around his farm on a side-by-side with him. His family’s house burned down in 1983, and a few years later he started the Clearfork department with his father to be there for others in his community.

On a sunny morning in October, he drove along the curves of Rich Mountain until his truck entered the bowl-shaped farming community called Burkes Garden. Encircled by a ridge, it’s a drive that demonstrates the need for volunteer fire stations across the county — Stowers said the ride over it might take the closest station outside the valley up to 30 minutes.

The Burkes Garden station was built two years ago, and as the newest in the county, it is outfitted with large apparatus bays, communal spaces and showers. He hopes the new company will have a better shot at winning grants so other stations can have similar facilities. 

At the same time, Burkes Garden has about 12 volunteers, which falls short of the 20-member minimum the state requires. The merger means they don’t have to meet the mandate alone anymore and renews focus on recruiting new members.