Residents and firefighters tell Hampton County council leadership issues are damaging morale and mutual aid

Several residents and volunteer firefighters urged the Hampton County Council on Tuesday night to intervene in what they described as deteriorating leadership and strained relationships within the county’s fire services.

"They deserve leadership that supports them with transparency, accountability, and collaboration," said Jennifer Rush, identifying herself as mayor, in a public comment that opened a series of appeals from firefighters and municipal officials. Rush said decisions were being made without meaningful input from line personnel and warned that broken morale could affect recruitment and service to the public.

Dylan Braden, who identified himself as fire chief for the Town of Hampton, told the council his department recently lost automatic aid status for its rescue truck and that the town’s rescue and ambulance resources were being restricted. He said the rescue unit previously covered long stretches of county roads on automatic dispatch and that reassigning apparatus risks longer response times in rural areas.

Multiple volunteer speakers said county equipment and pumps once staged in town stations had been removed or reassigned, and some reported that volunteers were not being consulted about changes. One long-serving volunteer said unauthorized building inspections and reassignments of apparatus—described as decisions made ‘‘because he felt like it’’—had undermined trust.

Council members responded by acknowledging the seriousness of the concerns and urging a rapid fact-finding process. Several council members recommended a meeting with the county administrator, the county fire chief, municipal chiefs and affected town leaders to "get to the bottom of what's going on," and at least one called for a town-hall-style public meeting to hear residents' concerns directly.

The council agreed to add a fire discussion to the calendar and directed staff and council leadership to schedule follow-up meetings with municipal leaders and fire chiefs before a broader public forum. At least one council member asked colleagues to read the outside consultant's fire-and-EMS study before any public meeting so members would be informed about the study’s recommendations.

The exchange highlighted operational questions about mutual aid, apparatus placement and whether changes to staffing or unit assignment could affect the county’s ISO rating and homeowners’ insurance costs in rural areas. Speakers urged the council to consider forming or empowering a fire board to provide independent oversight and to ensure communication among municipalities, county leadership and volunteer companies.

The council did not take a formal vote on policy changes during the meeting; members said they would pursue meetings and additional information as next steps.