ROGERS, Ark. — The Beaver Lake Fire Department lays off firefighters because of budget shortfalls. This comes after the department withdrew its petition to form a fire protection district which would’ve increased revenue. Four fire engine personnel will be laid off in the coming months. There were only six fire engine personnel ,to begin with, so come December there will just be two firefighters to serve 7,000 residents.
This decision was made during Monday, Aug. 15, night’s Beaver Lake Fire Department’s board of directors meeting. Chief John Whisenant says they made the decision because of financial shortfalls.
“It’s very unfortunate. Four men who have served our department with distinction are going to go home without a job, their families their livelihoods are going to be turned upside down That is an incredibly difficult thing to do for our fire department, for our community and most importantly for those men and their families,” he said.
The board also decided to reduce Whisnant’s salary. Currently, there are three fire engine personnel on duty 24/7 and a firefighter who is also an EMT assigned to their EMS partnership with Mercy EMS. Whisenant says starting Dec. 10 there will only be two fire engine personnel on duty 24/7 along with an EMT.
“This is going to affect us being able to respond in a timely manner and with the appropriate amount of people to mitigate the emergency safely not only for you, but for us as a first responder. You will still receive a response from the Beaver Lake Fire Department,” he said.
Back in June, we told you the department was going door to door to ask residents to sign a petition to form a fire protection district. This would have meant people living in the area would likely have paid more. After a lack of support from the community, the board withdrew the petition on Wednesday, Aug. 17. He says now they will look at other options to increase their revenue. He says the community did say they support the fire department and would support some sort of increase, so in the coming months they will be looking at options to do that.
“I am concerned, and this is tragic to our community, devastating for our community members we serve. I want to give them the best service as quickly as we possibly can because ours is a people's business. We serve people and it takes people to serve those people,” he said.
The fire department is asking for volunteers who are willing to step up and help their neighbors. You can get an application at the department or online. The board will review options for continuing a level of service that meets the community's needs at their next meeting on Sept. 12. Anyone is welcome to attend.