Sumner County study session hears expert warn volunteer fire service under strain; county marshal, phased consolidation discussed

A Sumner County study session on volunteer fire services heard a detailed presentation from Mark Allen, a guest introduced as representing CCNA/CCA podcast, who told commissioners the county should prepare for long-term personnel and funding strain and consider creating a county fire marshal or a phased county fire department.

“Fire service is not an essential service in the state of Tennessee,” Allen said, arguing that the designation — and current statutory arrangements — limit how counties and departments prioritize resources. He told the board that a recent CTAS/ISO review of departments showed many cannot consistently field four personnel on first-alarm structure responses, a shortfall he said threatens response capacity as the state grows.

Allen outlined three basic options for counties: continue supporting independent nonprofit fire departments that rely on grants and donations; appoint a county fire marshal or coordinator to provide planning, grant-writing and reporting support to nonprofits; or establish a county fire department (initially under contract and then, if needed, as a county-operated service) that consolidates assets, insurance and payroll. He recommended beginning with a marshal-level position to build capacity and buy-in before moving to larger structural change.

The presentation emphasized cost pressures and administrative burdens on volunteer departments. Allen cited large grant programs and one-time awards — including a referenced $5,000,000 governor grant in an example county — but said recurring costs and inflation (he named SCBA/AirPaks and other equipment rising in price) make volunteer fundraising and small donations unreliable long-term. “Eventually, we will fail,” he said, warning that declining volunteer rosters and aging equipment could force more expensive emergency responses later.

Commissioners and Allen discussed local funding tools: dedicated fire taxes (citing other Tennessee counties that use them), reallocating building‑permit fees or inspection fees to support fire services, and county bond financing for stations and apparatus. Allen cautioned that annexation and tax-base variations can complicate fire-tax models and that any county monetary donation to nonprofits should be accompanied by financial controls and audits to protect taxpayer dollars.

Board members asked about volunteer recruitment and whether any department in recent years had become fully self-sustaining. A commissioner asked, “In the last 10 years, have you ever seen any volunteer fire department successfully promote and market themselves to the point where they needed nothing from anybody except the people in their district?” Allen said he could not point to many sustainable, standalone examples and stressed the need for community outreach and civic buy-in to support any model.

Allen also urged the county to review and update boundary resolutions and maps for fire districts, noting that many jurisdictions have “grandfathered” boundaries with no central database; he recommended that boundary changes be verified by county commission vote so maps and ISO records align. He warned that appointing a marshal or creating a county department requires careful hiring and local buy-in to avoid perceptions of county takeover of volunteer departments.

The board agreed to request follow-up budgetary numbers and to reconvene for further study. The meeting adjourned after the motion to close the session.