Fire Levy Fails in Mingo County

MINGO COUNTY, W.Va. -- A levy vote that would have increased fire protection in Mingo County has failed this weekend. Fire departments are concerned about their ability to stay open without that money.

Chattaroy is among the ten fire departments in the county that are made up of volunteers. Williamson is the only department that has paid firefighters. But even with volunteers, operating the departments still costs money.

The concern now is whether smaller departments, especially ones that only make runs to fires every couple of weeks, can stay open. If they fold, response times for emergencies would increase.

"People in Chattaroy will have to depend on people in Williamson," Jarrod Fletcher, Mingo County's emergency services director, said. "In the Beech Creek area, they'll have to depend on Matewan, or [if] Matewan goes out they'll have to depend on Delbarton."

Local chiefs also said reduced protection could drive up insurance premiums in the area -- meaning that savings on tax bills will be costly in the long run.

Officials said this levy could be on the ballot again in May 2014. It last failed in October 2011.

Mingo County is one of just a few West Virginia counties without a fire department levy.