The Graham County Rescue Squad and Graham County Fire Department will soon become a single unit.
Commander Jeff Millsaps announced plans for the merger at the squad’s December meeting.
Millsaps stated that in reality, many of the members served in both departments anyway and the main reason for the merger was more access to funding. There is little outside funding available to rescue squads, but considerably more funding is available to joint fire and rescue units.
Operating expenses can be costly, such as when a fire engine or rescue vehicle needs replacing.
Both units are staffed by volunteers who receive no salary for their services and are active in a variety of incidents, such as vehicle accidents, plane crashes, structure fires, brush fires, drownings, traffic control and searches for lost persons.
“This decision was not made lightly,” reads a portion of a statement posted by the fire department on its Facebook page Dec. 17.
“But (over the) past decade, 95 percent of members are members of both.
“We will not forget (the) sacrifices made by our original 12 rescue squad founding members, or the time and dedication to (the) county that members have gave. They are the reason both departments are here and set the foundation of what we build off of for future generations to come.”
Publisher/editor Kevin Hensley also contributed to this report.