PUTNAM COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – On a county-wide level, first responders from all eight different fire departments in Putnam County are facing funding cuts and staffing shortages while the demand of 911 calls and emergencies ramp up. However, the power of voting could be a solution to this problem through this year’s 911 Levy .

That levy equates to $2.5 million and must receive 60% votes in favor of the levy to take effect. The primary election to vote on this levy is Tuesday, May 14.

“This is a replacement. There’s already a fire fee in place. Going to a levy is going to make it easier for people. They aren’t going to have to send in a separate check. It’s just going to be part of their taxes,” Putnam County Commission president Andy Skidmore said.

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Skidmore said since the fire fee was established in Putnam County in 1986, the environment and population have dramatically changed, making the current funding system outdated.

“That was a lot of farmland in Putnam County at that time,” Skidmore said. “With the growth, we’re nearly 60,000 people at this point. Our protection is just not kept up with our growth that Putnam County is experiencing.”

Last voting cycle, a proposed levy failed, slashing dollars across county-wide emergency services. This left a grave impact on staffing capacity.

“This engine behind me is running 2,000 calls a year. In 2012 that was 1,000. So, we’re doing the same business. We haven’t changed any philosophy. We haven’t changed any models. We respond like we did in 2012, and it’s a thousand times more,” Teays Valley Fire Chief John Smoot said.

Smoot said the demand is more intense now even though his department, along with others, has been forced to shift gears due to budget cuts. He said their operating budget went from $230,000 to $150,000.

“In August of ’23, we had to cut back on the fire department staffing and rely on the volunteer component of the department. We are still on that model and will be until we receive additional funding that will take us back to 24/7 on the fire operations side,” Smoot said.

The impact of these cuts can be the difference between life and death depending on the emergency. One example is the Devonshire Apartments fire in the summer of 2023 which severely damaged one building. That fire was caused by a lightning strike that knocked out the alarm system on the complex.

“We had a response that night that three departments didn’t show up that were supposed to show up because of staffing. That’s not the fire we needed to have problems with. That was the fire that we needed to have 100% everybody on their game,” Smoot said.

At the time, Teays Valley Fire Department was staffed 24/7, though they are now operating on a 12-hour volunteer schedule and a 12-hour staffed schedule. Smoot said though his team had trained and prepared to fight that fire, it was difficult to battle.

Now, he said the outcome could be different if a fire to that capacity happened in the middle of the night.

Smoot said, “We’re going to have a delayed response. We will not be there as quick as we were. We’re having fires that, there’s just not enough people. That’s the sad reality of it. If that fire happens tonight, we will have a different outcome, more than likely.”

A passed levy could keep this from happening for all eight departments, not just Teays Valley.

Smoot said he invokes that residents vote ‘yes’ to maintain solid coverage on a county-wide level and protect the lives of residents who depend on first responders during a crisis.

“If you like what you have and you don’t know what’s there, if you don’t know what’s there, you never understand. But one of the things about being in emergency services – whether it’s fire, EMS, law, it doesn’t matter – you’ve got a front-row seat to life. And that front-row seat to life, unless you’re being affected, you have no idea. You have no idea what we do,” Smoot said.

Smoot said he believes it’s important for people to educate themselves on what their local first responders do on a daily basis while also supporting them through things like elections.

“I don’t want anyone to have bad days, but that’s why we’re here. When you have a bad day, that’s why we’re here. Until you have a bad day, you really don’t know what we’re about. If you don’t try to learn about us, you have no idea what we do,” Smoot said.

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