Oconee County commission asks for tentative staffing schedule after residents warn single-person stations are unsafe

Oconee County Fire Advisory Commission members voted unanimously to request a tentative staffing schedule be presented to the county fire chief after public commenters and firefighters warned that staffing rural stations with a single person would be unsafe.

During the public-comment portion, Mountain Rest resident Dwayne Pate told commissioners, “I just come to express my concerns about the new staffing going to 1 man in a station. I feel that putting young people in that position is gonna be unsafe.” Pate said volunteer coverage and mutual aid are often too distant; he cited Long Creek as about a 20-minute mutual-aid response.

Randy Vaughn, a Mountain Rest firefighter and Navy veteran, echoed those concerns: “Just don't put our kids there either,” he said, describing a recent call where a single crew faced a 20-minute gap before backup arrived. Vaughn asked who would manage and train remote single-person crews.

The commission responded that no final staffing plan had been adopted and pledged to take the comments into consideration. The chair said there was “not been a definite plan made yet” and warned that “there's a lot of false information floating around on the streets,” while committing to get accurate details back to the affected districts.

After an executive session that listed staffing as one of its topics, the commission returned and the chair called for a vote "for a tentative staffing schedule to be presented to the fire chief on Monday night, as discussed in executive session." The motion carried unanimously.

What happens next: the commission directed staff to produce a tentative staffing schedule for presentation to the fire chief; commissioners said further discussion will follow at committee and chiefs meetings. No specific implementation date or final staffing change was decided during the public meeting.

Reported speakers and attributions are taken from the meeting record: Dwayne Pate (public commenter), Randy Vaughn (public commenter; Mountain Rest firefighter), Chief Smith (county fire administration), and commissioners who voted to carry the motion.