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Local fire chief urges sustainable funding as volunteer ranks, equipment needs strain services
Summary
Hornbeck (Hahnville area) Volunteer Fire Department and fire chiefs briefed council on staffing, equipment grants and funding shortfalls, urging the parish to address long-term financing and recruitment to sustain service levels.
Chief Matthew Althouse of the Hornville Volunteer Fire Department delivered an update to the St. Charles Parish Council on Jan. 6, describing increases in call volume, recent grant successes and persistent funding and staffing challenges across parish fire districts.
Althouse said the Hornville department responded to 239 calls in 2024 and noted the department has completed hurricane repairs and restored both stations. He detailed recent grant awards, including approximately $306,380 from the Assistance to Firefighters/AFG program to replace SCBAs, purchase extrication equipment and upgrade portable radios, and an $18,270 FEMA grant administered through state channels.
Althouse told the council the department currently operates with a mix of personnel: one full-time firefighter-operator, one full-time probationary firefighter, three part-time firefighters, one full-time administrative assistant and 16 volunteers (nine classified as firefighters). He said it costs over $20,000 to train and equip a single firefighter and that volunteers typically take two to four years to fully train, while retention and daytime coverage remain problems.
While chiefs have pursued grants and capital purchases, Althouse said current taxing-district revenues typically cover only basic operations and maintenance and that capital purchases often rely on multiyear savings or outside grants. He urged the council to pursue sustainable funding to address recruitment, retention, staffing and equipment modernization, saying "the citizens of St. Charles Parish deserve a fire service that is proactive, professional, and adequately resourced." The council thanked the chiefs and said they would seek more regular quarterly reports from fire districts.
