Thursday Meeting May Dissolve Arkwright Fire Department

The Arkwright Fire Department has served that Spartanburg County community since 1964, but after Thursday night it appears that will no longer be the case.

Years of financial difficulty left commissioners with the Arkwright, Roebuck and Croft fire districts no choice as they voted on a plan that would consolidate Arkwright. The next step towards consolidating the fire district will be a petition that will be presented to Spartanburg County Council at its next meeting and for the Arkwright Fire District to vote on a resolution that would refund a certain lease-purchase obligation of $175,000 they owe for vehicles.

By "refunding" the vehicles, Arkwright hopes to refinance them, hoping for a lower interest rate that could translate to a lower millage rate for people in the Arkwright community since they are more likely to pay off the debt. The same also goes for the $322,000 the department owes for the bond on their station and property, in which they also hope to refinance.

"We're just looking at all of our options to see what would best serve the community as a whole and provide accountability," said Arkwright commissioner Carol Davis. "We don't have any specific plans yet."

But an attorney representing Arkwright contradicted that statement, saying his firm has drawn up a plan that would keep the fire station on Southport Road open but operating under Roebuck and Croft.

"Roebuck would take the title of the building and the property," said Gary Pope of Pope Zeigler. "Croft would place a ladder truck at the station and provide fuel and insurance for it. Both departments would have personnel at the station around the clock."

Arkwright has only four square miles of territory, according to Chief James Owens. Pope says Croft would absorb about one square mile into its district and Roebuck would take the other three square miles. But both would respond to fires within the Arkwright area.

"The ladder truck would be dispatched from the Arkwright station, and both Croft and Roebuck would send a pumper truck from their primary stations," said Pope.

That response scenario is nothing new for Roebuck and Croft. For the past seven years, they have provided automatic mutual aid to Arkwright -- meaning every time there is a fire call in Arkwright, Roebuck and Croft automatically send a crew.

"Our taxpayers are in effect paying to cover Arkwright's district because we're using our resources," said Croft Chief Lewis Hayes. "At least under this plan, we would be getting some additional revenue for it since our tax base would be increasing."

Pope believes the arrangement will eventually ease the tax burden for property owners in Arkwright while putting no additional strain on Roebuck and Croft. Arkwright has almost $500,000 in debt to pay off, including a $175,000 lease-option agreement that was used to purchase vehicles and $322,000 remaining on a bond for its building. Pope says property owners in Arkwright will continue to pay off the debt through millage, but Arkwright will seek to refinance the loans because interest rates are low -- which should result in lower payments, meaning lower millage rates.

He also says Arkwright property owners might see a drop in their insurance premiums because Croft and Roebuck Fire Departments have better ISO ratings than Arkwright.

Chief Owens faces the loss of his job (he is the only paid member of the Akwright Volunteer Fire Department), but he says he's not worried about that.

"It's not about me," said Owens. "It's about providing a higher level of service for people in Arkwright. That's what we're doing here. I'm sure some other department will welcome me on board."

Chief Hayes calls it a great opportunity for all three districts.

"This is a very positive thing for this community because three departments saw there was a problem and sat down and solved it," said Hayes. "We are being proactive instead of reactive."

The commissioners who oversee the departments will come together Thursday night at 7:00 for a community meeting. It will be held at the Arkwright Fire Station on Southport Road. According to the agenda, commissioners will take a vote on whether to enter into the consolidation agreement. The public is encouraged to attend.