South Van Zandt Takes The Reins For Fire Coverage

It became official as the clock struck midnight on January 1. South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department was on duty as first responders to the 80 square miles of unincorporated area outside the city limits of Canton.

The area was previously covered by the Canton Fire Department, until negotiations for more funding with the county ceased.

The county gives its 12 volunteer fire departments, as of October 2009, a $600.53 per month allowance.

For Canton, whose budget has increased over the years, it became harder to stretch the county money when more than half their calls were being made outside the city limits.

Also, over the years Canton has added paid positions becoming more of a 24/7 department, however, still relying on volunteers.

The solution for the Canton Fire Department was to go to the county with a plan for funding which would gradually increase over a five-year period.

According to a December 3, 2009, article in the Canton Herald, Canton Fire Chief Charles Bazhaw made contact with the commissioners about negotiations but was told, "they have provided arrangements for services to those folks in that area."

The solution for keeping those 80 miles covered was for the county to call upon the South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department.

Already housing three departments – Martins Mill, Old Bethel and Walton/China Grove – South Van Zandt VFD made the decision to open up a fourth station.

"When this first came up and the county said can your department come in and take their (Canton’s) area?" South Van Zandt VFD Board President Tim Meredith explained. "Most volunteers in the area who don’t have incorporated cities said they thought they could. We knew we could with the resources we had."

"Then when they ask us. We said we could provide all you need, but we can’t build a building," he said.

So the county signed a six month lease agreement for a temporary location at the Neal Building located on State Highway 64, next to the Farm Bureau, which will house the South Van Zandt VFD Canton station.

"They (the county) asked us to do this," he said. "…We said if they could house a place, we could provide volunteers, equipment and trucks."

The decision to open a fourth station, however, was not an easy one.

"That was a difficult undertaking and a very scary thought," Meredith said.

He credits their station grant writer as being a visionary for seeing the fourth department as one that could work.

"He had a vision and said this could work," Meredith said.

So after putting pen to paper they looked at their budget and decided they could take on the additional area.

The South Van Zandt VFD fire district #4 covers the 80 square miles of unincorporated area that the Canton Fire Department no longer covers. The Canton FD is still under the mutual aid agreement, and could be called upon to assist South Van Zandt if they are paged.

Meredith said the board has purchased a 1997 Sparta Quality, which is a class A pumper fire engine, for the South Van Zandt VFD #4 in Canton.

They also have a brush truck on location, and have recently put one of their reserve trucks back in service.

Meredith said in two months they will be adding a tanker truck, which will hold up to 2,800 gallons of water, to their Canton station.

Altogether South Van Zandt VFD has 42 volunteer firefighters, with 12 of those assigned to the Canton station.

The Canton department will be manned 24 hours a day during First Monday weekend, and Meredith noted that stations chief Heath Morris and captain is Mike McLemore.

Meredith said that around half of their volunteer fire fighter roster is made up of career fire fighters who serve departments in the Dallas, Irving, The Colony, and Garland fire departments.

He went on to point out that most of the career firefighters are also paramedics or EMTs, and that everyone at the Canton station is either an EMT or paramedic.

"Because of the way we run our department is why we have career firefighters in our fire departments," Meredith said.

In all, Meredith said South Van Zandt VFD covers a total of 200 square miles in the county. The most of any other department.

There are eight people who serve on the South Van Zandt Board. Meetings are once a month, open to the public, and held the first Monday night of the month at the Walton/China Grove department.

Meredith said the only fund-raiser South Van Zandt VFD does every six months is a letter drive.

"We depend solely on the generosity of the people around us and who we serve," he said.

Meredith, who started the department with another man in February 1984, said he would have never dreamed it would have grown into four different departments 26 years later.

"We will need a lot of funding to make this work," Meredith said.

Although there is an option for South Van Zandt or the county to opt out after the first year if things don’t work out, Meredith said he has high hopes for station 4.

"I think it’s going to be a great department," Meredith said.

Anyone interested in making a donation to the department may send it to South Van Zandt Volunteer Fire Department, 26306 State Highway 19, Athens, Texas, 75752.