The Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company is back in service.
After multiple closed-door meetings, the Greene County Board of Supervisors ordered the station reopened Friday.
“Understanding the gravity of these matters and the county’s responsibility to ensure public safety, the Board of Supervisors and RVFC are working collaboratively to implement the necessary remediation measures, oversight protocols, and compliance standards required for full operational restoration,” the board said in a statement.
Few details have been disclosed regarding the sudden closure of the Ruckersville operation on May 13, only that an outside agency has been contracted to review and investigate unspecified claims against the fire company.
According to the board, “completion of a due diligence review that included an external investigation” means the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company may now respond to calls for help throughout the county.
The board made the decision to shutter the fire company in a closed-door meeting on May 13. Two days later, the board informed the fire company it could no longer respond to emergency calls. It was days later that most of the public learned of the decision.
With the station’s closure, more than 1,300 residents and businesses along the U.S. 29 corridor were at risk of losing life and property while awaiting help from the county’s other two fire departments miles away: Dyke Volunteer Fire Company and Stanardsville Volunteer Fire Department. Ruckersville’s closure also could have caused increased insurance rates for residents living in the area, officials told The Daily Progress.
Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company was the first fire department in Greene County and, until May, been responding to emergency calls since 1948.
“We’re glad to be back on mission,” Harold Richards, fire company president, told The Daily Progress after learning the company was in operation again Friday.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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