Rockingham County finalizes merger of Jacobs Creek and Huntsville fire districts; $700,000 grant named for Sen. Phil Berger

The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners on June 2 took final steps to merge the Jacobs Creek and Huntsville volunteer fire districts and announced a $700,000 state-funded grant to support volunteer fire departments.

Chairman Kevin Berger said Jacobs Creek had trouble responding to a couple of calls and that the two departments have been operating under a joint agreement for several months. "We are confident the two departments will merge and work together and serve the residents of both the Jacobs Creek and Huntsville district in a single district," Kevin Berger, chairman of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners, said at the meeting.

The board said the merger follows several months of joint operations and that the final administrative steps were completed at the June 2 meeting. Commissioners described the merger as a response to longstanding volunteer recruitment and retention challenges in county volunteer fire departments.

Commissioners also said state funding secured by Sen. Phil Berger will provide $700,000 to assist volunteer fire departments around Rockingham County with equipment purchases. The county announced the funding will be distributed via a competitive application process administered by the county; applications must be submitted by departments in July and awards will be distributed later in the year.

At the meeting the board decided to name the program the Phil Berger Volunteer Fire Department grant. The county did not provide vote tallies or the specific award criteria at the June 2 meeting; commissioners directed interested departments to county management for application details.

The merger and the grant were presented as separate but related county responses to volunteer shortages: the merger addresses immediate operational gaps in Jacobs Creek and Huntsville, while the grant is intended to help other volunteer departments purchase needed equipment.