The Macon County Board of Commissioners terminated the county’s contract with Burningtown-Iotla Fire and Rescue after the volunteer department spent more than a year on probation.
The vote at the Sept. 9 commissioners meeting was made following a failed fire scene setup exercise on Sept. 5. The county attempted to administer the same test for Burningtown-Iotla Fire and Rescue (BIFR) in early August, but the test was not completed.
County Manager Warren Cabe said, “My intent tonight was to update you on their inspection process. The North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal actually did an unannounced inspection on those folks on Aug. 26 and they did pass their 9S inspection.”
“We went to Burningtown on Friday,” Commissioner Barry Breeden said. “What I saw, what we saw was a good effort, they were great people … but unfortunately there was a serious lack of leadership. Which I think was a perfect scenario, because if the chief isn’t there, who’s in charge? … There just wasn’t anybody that took that charge … There were a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty, and I just feel like, on a fire scene … that could be very catastrophic.”
Commissioner Danny Antoine said, “They were not able to get through it in the time that the state would allow.”
Antoine said he would like to see the BIFR members stay on and serve the community with the Cowee fire department. “But as of right now, from what I saw with this lack of leadership, we’re just setting up for a very dangerous situation.”
Cabe said, “The way the inspection process works for your protection class rating, the first thing that happens is you do 9S inspection, that’s the first thing that happens. The inspector comes in the first day and if you don’t pass the inspection doesn’t go any further. And then after that, it’s an evaluation of both the records and the potential for the department based on certain parameters.”
Cabe said BIFR was unable to achieve the class rating the county requires as part of its contract with the department.
Fire Chief Kenneth McCaskill said he had been responding to a call at the time of the test and BIFR had not been given adequate notice of a test.
“What we have been working on to get back up to standard is getting water on the
fire, getting crew packed up, ready to enter a burning structure if we needed to … we have not practiced the OSFM setup as such, that’s not something we use.”
“I’ve been on this department, Burningtown department, since 1993. The only time I recall us doing that and that kind of flow test was when we were practicing for OSFM, which we were very successful with the last time, and we’ll be there again.”
McCaskill also said he hadn’t gotten sufficient support from the county when re-entering a leadership role at the department, relying instead on state support to understand what a new chief is required to do.
Breeden made the motion to terminate the contract, saying, “I feel like we’ve been through this for a few months now. I feel like we gave the opportunities that needed to be given … what we’ve heard for the last few months is what we could do, what we can’t do … the state requires all these things.”
“I just didn’t see it,” he said. “I didn’t feel like it was adequate. I feel like the level of service of that community is not as good as it could be – I think they’re great people, I think they’re great volunteers. I think it would be a great opportunity for them to join forces and maybe have some camaraderie with some other guys and not be around the same eight or 10 people all the time on Thursday nights, learn some things.”
Breeden’s motion included entering into an agreement with Cowee Volunteer Fire and Rescue to provide fire services to the Burningtown district pending a new contract.
Board chair Josh Young said, “I’m not a fire safety professional, but I’ve consulted many with several hundred combined years of experience and not one had any hesitation or reservations … last month we were in here, we talked to the volunteers and they nodded their heads and said they’d be willing to support their community and would be willing to work for the community they were placed to serve and they had no problem working for a different [department].”
“This could be the first step in many problems the county is facing with many fire departments,” he said.
The commissioners voted unanimously to terminate the contract and work with Cowee.
Burningtown-Iotla was initially placed on an eight-month probation on July 9, 2024, after a failed inspection revealed the department had fallen below its state-required membership levels and certain reporting requirements. Since July, the department has oscillated between sufficiency and insufficiency in its membership levels and training hours. The Macon County Board of Commissioners voted against terminating the county’s contract with BIFR in May and August, agreeing instead to extend the department’s probation.
Question of ownership
Before the final vote on Sept. 9, McCaskill said, “We are a charted nonprofit in the state of North Carolina. The [BIFR] board will make a decision of how we will proceed. Just because you cancel our contract does not necessarily mean Burningtown Fire and Rescue Inc. ceases to exist. The property is registered to the board, the trucks are registered to the board. We own them. We also have significant debt. The board is liable for that debt. That debt will be paid before any merger or any consolidation is done because I’m not going to leave my board members responsible for paying a half a million plus in liability. So our board will meet Monday night if you want to attend.”
County attorney Eric Ridenour said, “Mr. McCaskill, I think that Mr. Cabe and I will be happy to work with that. I think that we’re all in agreement that the government would best serve the Burningtown-Iotla community. The Burningtown-Iotla community purchased that, and so what we need to do is make sure that we continue to protect the Burningtown-Iotla community with that equipment … we need to make sure that we don’t let emotions and hurt feelings get in the way of continuing to protect the people of Burningtown-Iotla.”
“That’s on you and this board,” McCaskill said. “You made the decision; we will follow what is registered with the Secretary of State.”
“Let’s all work together is all I’m asking,” Ridenour said. “We’ll work it out … divesting yourself of those assets or selling it to pay off the debts in order to put a hardship in your community, I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“We signed the loans,” McCaskill said.
“Understand the county’s got you covered on that. The county can afford that,” Ridenour said.
A public comment from Vickie Sanders, a recent member of the BIFR board, said, “If the commissioners make the decision to cancel the contract, the Cowee Fire Department – they are an excellent fire department – would take a longer time to respond to the calls, whether it be fire or medical reasons. Would you as commissioners please vote to keep the Burningtown-Iotla Fire Department to serve all the families in our area.”
Cowee response
A Sept. 11 press release from Cowee Volunteer Fire/Rescue (CVFR), written by Chief Dustin Pendergrass, read, “At the time of this press release, CVFR has not been granted access to the fire stations in the Burningtown-Iotla communities. The five-mile protection area from our Oak Grove Station and our Mason Branch Station will provide adequate coverage to a majority of the Burningtown and Iotla communities. If the BIFR Board of Directors refuse to cooperate with CVFR’s Board of Directors, several homes in the upper Burningtown area could potentially lose their ISO Class 4 rating.”
At its Sept. 15 meeting, the BIFR board voted to meet with the county and Cowee Volunteer Fire and Rescue to discuss the transfer of equipment.
On Sept. 15, Pendergrass said there had been four calls in the Burningtown community since Cowee entered the agreement with the county.
“Responses to the Burningtown community have been adequate in terms of time of response as well as the number of members responding … additionally, Cowee Fire and rescue has strategically placed fire/rescue apparatus to quicken their response,” Pendergrass stated.
Pendergrass noted that the community’s ISO rating would remain in place, and that Cowee hoped to soon go through an inspection to improve the rating to class three, which will lower the insurance costs in the Burningtown and Iotla communities.
“In the near future we would like to hold a community meeting that includes invites to the Burningtown, Iotla, Cowee and Oak Grove communities to speak as a group and answer any questions and address any concerns that you many have.”
Burningtown volunteers needed
Pendergrass requested that current BIFR volunteers join Cowee. He said they handed out about 10 applications to residents in Burningtown and received half of them back. “We expect the other applications to come back soon,” he said.
Applications are available for pickup at 208 Mason Branch Rd. “Members from BIFR are encouraged to fill out an application and continue serving their communities,” Pendergrass said.
“We look forward to working with the Burningtown Community to ensure those residents are provided with the same great service that the members of the Cowee community enjoy today.”