By Ethan Hunt
The Roanoke Times
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — Montgomery County should build three new fire and EMS stations and add personnel, including a fire marshal, to prepare for future growth and a shrinking volunteer base, according to a 10-month study recently completed by an expert third party.
The study, conducted by MissionCIT, a company that provides emergency services training and assessments, found the county’s current system will require additional staffing and infrastructure to keep pace with a growing local population and a decline in volunteer firefighters and emergency responders, a trend that extends nationwide.
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Long-term recommendations include building stations in the Peppers Ferry Road, Roanoke Street and Radford Road areas, which the study identified as having the greatest need. Before planning and design could begin, the county would first need to acquire land, one of the many funding challenges ahead of implementing the study’s recommendations.
One recommendation MissionCIT said should be implemented immediately is hiring a fire marshal. While Christiansburg and Blacksburg have their own fire inspectors, Montgomery County relies on the state for inspections. Frank Edwards, MissionCIT’s senior director, said the arrangement works well for high-density structures but can leave smaller buildings overlooked because of limited time and resource constraints.
The recommendations come as Montgomery County has steadily increased public safety spending in response to population growth and a shrinking volunteer workforce. In 2021, the county employed two full-time emergency responders. Today, it employs 50.
Ten fire and EMS departments serve Christiansburg, Blacksburg and the county’s unincorporated communities. Addressing the board of supervisors on Monday, Edwards said one of the county’s top priorities should be integrating those departments into a more strategic, countywide system.
Edwards said the county’s emergency response system evolved over decades and as a result is somewhat fragmented into organizational “silos.”
One example, he said, is response districts that sometimes reflect historical boundaries rather than which department is closest to an emergency.
Among the study’s intermediate-term recommendations are improving volunteer recruitment and retention and developing a funding allocation model.
Supervisors immediately discussed one recommendation following the presentation: a potential tax break for volunteer emergency personnel. Any change would require public advertisement and would be considered at a future meeting.
Supervisors also discussed a “fire levy” proposed in the study. The dedicated tax on real estate or personal property would provide a separate funding source for fire and EMS services, with the rate determined by the board of supervisors. It is one of four options offered by Mission CIT to address funding.
Presentations on the study will next be made to the Christiansburg and Blacksburg town councils. County officials said they expect many more work sessions on the findings.
The more than 370-page report will be available on the county’s website beginning Wednesday.
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