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Snow Creek residents and volunteers press supervisors over EMS staffing; chief says county is filling positions
Summary
Captain of Snow Creek Rescue and local residents said recent reassignments of career personnel have reduced local EMS coverage and urged the board to investigate; the county chief said hiring is under way and the agency has made progress but multiple stations remain short of career staffing.
Residents, volunteer rescue personnel and county leaders clashed at the meeting over staffing at the Snow Creek rescue station after volunteers said career personnel previously assigned to the station were reassigned without notice.
Timmy Law, who identified himself as a Snow Creek Rescue Squad volunteer and captain, said changes left the community with longer response times and that Snow Creek’s volunteers and residents feel “disregarded.” “We are not going to stop until this wrong is made right,” Law told supervisors during public comment.
Franklin County Fire & EMS Chief Michael Fowler responded that Snow Creek, Callaway, Fort Mountain and other stations need staffing and that the department has been filling positions. Fowler said the service’s pipeline of applicants is improving and that county hiring has brought the fleet closer to full staffed trucks than a year ago. He asked supervisors and the public for patience while newly hired personnel complete required certifications and training. “I will get staff in Snow Creek and I am working on that,” Fowler said, while also noting that multiple stations across the county have concurrent needs.
During earlier authority and staff presentations, county leaders discussed resource and coverage planning for fire and EMS, and supervisors said they would press for clearer schedules and reporting from the public safety director and the chief. Snow Creek volunteers and residents at the meeting asked the board to investigate reassignments and requested documentation of personnel decisions and timelines.
Why it matters: Snow Creek is a remote district in the county; volunteers say they stepped up to add living quarters for career staff and then lost assigned career personnel. That raised local concerns about response times for medical and fire emergencies. County and department leaders said they are working to increase hiring and unit availability but acknowledged that building a stable, certified career workforce takes time.
What’s next: Supervisors asked staff to provide information on staffing levels and to include Snow Creek in weekly or regular reporting of staffing and unit availability. Chief Fowler said the department will continue recruitment and training to bring units to full staffed status.
