14/10/2026
As the Town of Fort Ann considers its proposal to consolidate the two fire districts, we believe it is important to look beyond department names, organizational boundaries, and a history that has separated us. The Town is asking both departments to work together to build one organization operating two firehouses, with the goal of providing the strongest possible fire protection for our community, today and into the future.
Both departments were built on the same foundation. Volunteers have given time away from their families, trained, responded to emergencies, and served their neighbors because they believe in protecting this community. That commitment deserves respect, regardless of which firehouse someone calls home.
We also have to recognize that our community has experienced a recurring cycle of ups and downs within each department. At different times, one organization has been in a stronger position than the other. Recruitment, retention, training demands, equipment costs, and volunteer availability continue to challenge fire departments everywhere, and Fort Ann is no exception.
We have to ask ourselves whether continuing to operate as two separate organizations is the best way to address those challenges, or whether one organization operating two firehouses could provide a more stable foundation for the future.
This has never been about shutting down a firehouse or erasing either department’s history. Both organizations independently own their buildings, trucks, and equipment, and consolidation will require a willingness to look beyond ownership and organizational pride. Our founding members built these organizations to protect the community, not to create permanent boundaries around the resources they worked so hard to establish. If we allow the unwillingness to part with titles, apparatus, or equipment to stand in the way of providing the best possible fire protection to any portion of our community, then we have lost sight of the very purpose for which these organizations were founded. The question should not be what one department stands to lose, but what our entire community stands to gain.
We have demonstrated an ability to respond throughout the town, including the western portion of our community through automatic aid responses. Our documented response history, training, membership, equipment, and operational experience provide a foundation for these discussions. Maintaining the West Fort Ann personnel and station as part of a unified organization could preserve that local presence while allowing both stations to operate under one coordinated system and ultimately enhance fire protection.
There are also potential benefits for taxpayers and property owners.
Fort Ann currently holds an ISO Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating of 4/4Y. Class 4 applies to qualifying properties within five road miles of a recognized responding station and within 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply. Class 4Y applies within the same five-road-mile distance when a qualifying water supply is more than 1,000 feet away.
Based on the guidance provided to our department from Verisk, operating the West Fort Ann station as part of a unified organization for one year will establish the response history needed for verification and a subsequent ISO evaluation. The station must be operational as a station 2, with documented responses.
Because of the current locations of the two stations, some properties in the eastern, western, northern, and southern portions of town remain outside the applicable five-road-mile distance. Consolidation cannot change geography, and we cannot say that every property in town will receive the same classification. However, having an additional recognized station under our PPC rating would extend the reach of our rating and benefit a larger portion of the community, with the possibility of insurance savings for qualifying property owners.
But none of these potential benefits will matter if the people involved are not willing to make consolidation work.
Both departments must be willing to communicate, work through differences, train together, and move forward with a shared purpose. We cannot approach this as one department winning and another losing. Both organizations must have a voice in building a successful unified department, and both must be willing to put the long-term needs of the community ahead of organizational boundaries and individual interests.
The Fort Ann Volunteer Fire Company is committed to working with the Town and West Fort Ann to determine what is necessary to make this proposal successful. We are prepared to have the difficult conversations, address legitimate concerns, and work toward a structure that provides reliable, sustainable fire protection for the entire town.
Ultimately, the Town has the final say in determining the outcome of this proposal. Our responsibility as a fire company is to work together, provide our input, and help develop the strongest most financially responsible plan for our community.
At the end of the day, when someone calls 911, they do not care which organization a firefighter belongs to. They care that someone answers the call and arrives prepared to protect their family, home, and neighbors.
We do not have to abandon our history to build a better future. We have to be willing to bring the best of that history forward and use it to create something stronger.
Comments on this post will be disabled. Anyone with questions is welcome to contact the Fort Ann Volunteer Fire Company directly, and we will answer what we can. We ask for respect, patience, and understanding throughout this process for everyone involved. We are all someones, mother, father, brother or sister and more importantly, members of the same community, and regardless of our opinions or affiliations, we should remember that we are neighbors working toward what we believe is best for Fort Ann.
The future of our fire protection system is bigger than any one department. It is a responsibility to our community and to the generations who will depend on us in the future.
One town. Two stations. One shared mission.
BETTER TOGETHER
