West Virginia Fire Station Closed after Workers’ Comp Canceled

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Summit Park Volunteer Fire Department in Harrison County, West Virginia has agreed to stop responding to emergency calls temporarily while the state Fire Marshal’s Office looks into complaints involving its finances.

Among the most serious problems, according to County Commissioner Bernie Fazzini, is the fact that workers’ compensation insurance for the Clarksburg-area department was canceled last month.

“Those guys need to be covered if they’re going out there and fighting fires,” Fazzini said Thursday, adding that such insurance is a requirement for state licensing.

The commission sent a letter to Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis detailing Summit Park’s lack of coverage and other concerns. Lewis said his staff is also looking into accusations that phone service has been disconnected and electricity service disrupted at the station.

Lewis asked the fire chief on July 23 to stop responding to emergency calls until these matters are resolved. Other area departments will be dispatched instead. While he says that may cause slight delays of a minute or two per call, Lewis doesn’t expect major problems with response time.

The Nutter Fort volunteer department, which is about three or four miles away from Summit Park, will primarily be covering for the closed station, Fazzini said.

Both Lewis and Fazzini say they are dedicated to helping Summit Park regroup.

“We’re working with the fire department to try to get them back to where they want to be,” said Lewis.

The station was the scene of a fire in 2001. Fazzini, who couldn’t remember what caused the fire, said that while much of the loss was covered by insurance, the station did accumulate some debt buying a new building and replacing equipment.

The station’s financial situation has continued to deteriorate, he said, and has gotten especially bad in recent years.

Fire Chief Brenda Fragmin couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, but her daughter, fire department President Christal Cain, said the closure was temporary and the station was working with the fire marshal.