Albemarle County Fire Rescue adding career staff to boost fire coverage in North Garden

Albemarle County Fire Rescue is supplementing emergency response with career staff placed along with volunteers at North Garden Volunteer Fire Company.

The joint effort began on Nov. 7, with career staff from the county working at North Garden weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Our company membership realized that the best way to provide service was to collaborate and partner with ACFR to enhance daytime emergency response to the people we serve,” North Garden Volunteer Fire Company Chief George Stephens said.

Albemarle County Fire Rescue was awarded a $1.88 million FEMA grant last year to hire, train, and deploy 10 full-time firefighters.

Of those 10 grant-funded positions, five are being used for the daytime firefighters staffing the North Garden station.

ACFR completed a six-month recruit school earlier this year to fill these 10-grant funded positions. Those new hires are now in positions stationed throughout the ACFR system.

“As volunteer rates decrease across the country, departments locally are committed to working together to provide effective and efficient emergency services to the people of Albemarle County. The partnership between ACFR and local volunteer fire departments is strong,” Albemarle County Fire Rescue Chief Dan Eggleston said. “We are proud that our career staff is able to fill in the gaps during shifts that are historically challenging to recruit for.”

North Garden Volunteer Fire Company continues to recruit volunteers to respond to the community’s emergency needs.

“The North Garden Fire Company remains committed to the health and well-being of our community,” Stephens said. “We encourage anyone interested in giving back to our area to contact us to learn more about the physical and mental rewards of volunteering.”