ROCKINGHAM — Three of Richmond County’s nine fire departments have been put on probation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The Derby, Mountain Creek and East Rockingham volunteer fire departments all received failing marks following recent inspections. However, most of the issues were clerical.
State records show East Rockingham — inspected in June, along with the Rockingham and Hamlet departments — failed because of not meeting the standard minimum response of one truck and four firefighters to a structure fire.
Mountain Creek didn’t pass because of low personnel, no roster and no maintenance record, while Derby had an issue with incident reporting. The two were both inspected in July, along with the Cordova and Northside volunteer fire departments.
The Ellerbe Fire Department was last inspected in March 2014, while the Hoffman department hasn’t been inspected since January 2013. Neither department failed during its last inspections.
N.C. Department of Insurance spokesman Colin Day said many volunteer departments struggle with recruitment, which could be a contributing factor.
Once a failure occurs, Day said, the Office of the State Fire Marshal will put a department on probation for up to a year to give the department an opportunity to correct the issue or issues.
“We appreciate the opportunity to assist these local fire departments as they strive to improve their service to local communities,” said state insurance commissioner Wayne Goodwin, a Richmond County native. “We are committed to working with them to find solutions to any challenges they face.”
Richmond County Emergency Services Director Donna Wright was present at all the inspections.
“There were some documentation issues found during the inspection of some fire departments,” she said in an email. “These issues are being addressed by each department individually.”
Wright said the departments are working with the fire rating inspector and she sees that they are making progress “correcting the identified deficiencies.”
Mountain Creek Fire Chief Keith Smith said Friday that the less than favorable inspection was “a matter of lack of documentation.”
“I didn’t have it at the time of the inspection,” he said, adding that he has since sent in the requested paperwork to the inspector. “Some of it was oversight on my part, but it’s been handled. We’re good now.”
According to Smith, the department has 25 firefighters on its roster.
Mitchell Watson, the East Rockingham chief, said his department either had three firefighters to respond to a structure fire — below the state mandate of four — or the engine was never en route before a response was canceled.
Watson said it’s a problem for volunteer departments throughout the state, but doesn’t want those in the district to be alarmed.
“Those guys never got credit for a call,” he said. “They’re taking time out of their day to respond to a call. If it’s canceled, they just go back to what they were doing.”
Watson said he will now be sending a monthly report to the inspector, showing that an appropriate number of firefighters responded to each call.
According to Day, neither the department ratings or homeowners’ insurance rates have changed due to the recent inspections.
Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.