Bulloch County outlines plan to assume 5-mile fire district after Statesboro agreement ends

Bulloch County officials and the county fire chief told residents Tuesday that the county has a plan to assume fire protection in the 5-mile district after Commissioners voted in December to end the fire-service agreement with the City of Statesboro.

County Fire Chief Ben Tapley said the county will add personnel, build stations inside the former 5-mile district and staff engines to mirror the level of service provided by Statesboro. “We will add the stations in the 5 Mile District come July 1. We’re gonna have 26 people on duty every day,” Tapley said, adding the county plans to place two engine companies and a ladder company in the district and has hired a battalion chief.

The discussion followed public comments from residents worried about higher taxes and potential insurance impacts if the city withdraws. Resident Mr. Toole said the proposal as reported would leave Statesboro taxpayers funding county responses outside city limits, describing it as “not fair.” William Emley, a homeowner, warned that the county approved ending the agreement without a public plan to replace it and asked whether residents would shoulder the tax burden without an immediate benefit.

Why this matters: the arrangement affects local tax bills, insurance rates tied to ISO (Insurance Services Office) ratings and how emergency resources are dispatched. Tapley said Statesboro currently holds a Class 2 ISO rating inside the 5-mile district and the county is Class 4; improving county capabilities, he said, could help residents’ insurance rates in the long run. Tapley also noted there are currently no fire stations inside the 5-mile district and that, per the existing contract, apparatus and personnel paid by the city remain city property if the agreement ends.

Tapley explained the difference between automatic aid and mutual aid. ‘‘Automatic aid means it happens on the first alarm… it only happens on reported structure fires. . . . Mutual aid . . . is something that isn’t in the contract. . . . If a fire is big, you can’t refuse mutual aid,’’ he said. He denied that the arrangement would create “double taxation,” saying the county has no access to city operating or capital funds.

County officials said the transition could be gradual and that the county proposed beginning a one-year phased takeover starting from the north end of the county and expanding coverage, with maps to be released to the public. Tapley said the county will publish maps and communications through the county’s communications office and that staff would distribute more information “tomorrow” to clarify coverage areas.

Residents and some commissioners pressed for numbers and clarifications. Tapley gave personnel and call-volume figures as reported at the meeting: Statesboro currently operates about 69 career and part-time firefighters; Bulloch County Fire Department reported 91 certified firefighters (including volunteers and trainees). Tapley said Statesboro has run about 400 calls into the district and roughly 1,100 calls inside the city in the cited year, figures he said were approximate.

County leaders also repeated that they have contingency plans for several takeover scenarios — full, partial or delayed — and that they intend to staff stations and invest in apparatus (the county has ordered an additional 3,000-gallon tanker). The county chair invited residents to further discussion after the meeting and said maps and a public information push are forthcoming.

The commission did not take a new formal vote on the agreement during the meeting; the December action to end the agreement was referenced by speakers and commenters.