WHITE HALL, W.Va. — The Valley Volunteer Fire Department (VVFD) could be looking for a new home if White Hall officials move forward with a plan to close their substation. The department was established in 1962 in Pleasant Valley, and the White Hall substation has been in operation since 1992, according to Deputy Chief Zac Eakle.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” Eakle said the department has 20 volunteers and four officers that cover the Pleasant Valley and White Hall area. The area includes schools, retail, and hotels, and when interstate traffic is considered, thousands travel through the Valley Volunteer Fire District every day.
“We run about 1,200 calls each year; about 400 of those are vehicle accidents,” Eakle said. “We run the interstate; that’s our bread and butter. We run it from Harrison County into Mon County, and our cutoff is the 137-mile marker.”
The department received a letter from the town dated October 15 informing them their month-to-month lease will be terminated November 14 and all of the equipment will have to be moved. Eakle said the town could be running out of space for their own operations, and there is a need for additional space.
“They have a very large and well-outfitted Public Works Department in the town of White Hall, and I think the mayor is looking to put some stuff under a roof,” Eakle said. “But I don’t want a $1 million fire truck in the weather either.”
The VVFD uses the White Hall location to stage a ladder truck and tanker that serve the high-traffic, retail-dominated area.
“One out of three of our engines, that being the third and one of the oldest ones, sits back there with 1,000 gallons of water that does provide fire protection and fire services to the town,” Eakle said.
Eakle said if the department moves, there are businesses with temporary space available where the trucks could be moved. While the department plans for the move, they are also looking at how they can meet future facility needs.
“Some of them have some relatively big storage buildings that we can keep those trucks in that are three to four minutes away from our main station in Pleasant Valley,” Eakle said. “So, we can keep that ladder truck and engine in a building until we can get something bigger built in the future.”
Town Administrator Cindy Stover said there will be a public workshop on Monday, November 3, at 6 p.m. in the White Hall Public Safety Building with members of the VVFD.
“As always, the residents, citizens of White Hall, and the surrounding communities are first and foremost our biggest concern, and we will be discussing how we move forward with this in mind,” Stover said.