Spring Creek Fire Chief: 'Volunteer fire departments are going to come to an end'

The Cook family residence in Hot Springs, located at 675 N.C. 63 Hwy., was destroyed in a fire March 15.
The Cook family residence in Hot Springs, located at 675 N.C. 63 Hwy., was destroyed in a fire March 15.

HOT SPRINGS - Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Chief Coty Norton's department has worked two significant house fires this month - a rare occurrence for the department - highlighting a crucial need for more first responders.

In the first fire, March 5 at the Gentry family home on Rabbits Den Road in Spring Creek in which four residents were transported to the hospital, Norton put out numerous all-call to the area volunteers but received no response.

"We have an issue in the county with not getting volunteers," said Norton, who also works with Marshall Fire Department. "At the (March 5) fire, I sent six fire department tones and did not get a big response out of people. Our volunteers are dwindling away. Just about every fire department around that does not have a paid person needs one, because they don't have enough people during work hours because all the volunteers work during the day.

"They don't have enough people during work hours to be able to run a call like this. I sent my tones for Spring Creek, Hot Springs, Country, Laurel, Fines Creek and Marshall Fire Departments, and just barely got enough people to run the scene."

Norton added details about the injuries.

"We ran a bunch of medical calls on the Gentry family fire," Norton said. "We flew three people out of there with extensive burns and smoke inhalation, and took another family member in via ambulance.

"The family member who had the worst burns had several surgeries, but is doing well," the Spring Creek chief said. "The (oldest family member) was intubated and was on life support, but is doing well and got to come home (March 15)."

Norton said the family lost their automobile and all their belongings in addition to the home.

In addition to Spring Creek, volunteer fire departments from Hot Springs, Country, Laurel, Marshall and Fines Creek (Haywood County) responded to the scene.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office and EMS were also on hand at the fire, which Spring Creek responded to around 7 p.m.

Norton said if the department had more assistance, emergency responders may have been able to arrive to the scene earlier.

An investigation revealed that the fire was potentiated by an oxygen machine used by the oldest resident, who is the mother of the two other residents transported to the hospital.

"It made the fire a lot more intense than what it normally is," he said.

March 15 fire

On March 15, Spring Creek responded shortly after 6:15 a.m. to a fire at the Cook family's residence on N.C. 63.

No one was injured in the fire.

In addition to Spring Creek, Leicester and Hot Springs Volunteer Fire Department, as well as Madison County Emergency Management also responded to the scene.

Norton said the cause of the fire is still undetermined, as the State Bureau of Investigation is performing an investigation.

Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire at the Cook family residence in Hot Springs, located 675 N.C. 63 Hwy. in Hot Springs, shortly after 6:15 a.m. March 15.
Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire at the Cook family residence in Hot Springs, located 675 N.C. 63 Hwy. in Hot Springs, shortly after 6:15 a.m. March 15.

Community's response to the fires

As of a March 16, a GoFundMe created March 7 for the Gentry family had received more than $7,600.

Norton and his peers at Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department are also conducting a clothing drive for the Cook family, who lost all their possessions in the March 15 fire.

Norton said he's asked the commissioners for another salaried employee.

"We've actually tried to go to the commissioners now to put in a paid person at our department due to this fact," he said. "We're trying to make awareness of this, because if we don't get volunteers soon ... we're going to ... we're going to have to get a paid person, one way or the other.

"We don't like having to raise fire taxes, but it's going to come to that if we don't get more volunteers into the department."

"We would like to get this out into the public and let everyone know, a generation of people is not wanting to volunteer and not wanting to do the (volunteer) fire aspect," Norton said. "Eventually, volunteer fire departments are going to come to an end if we don't start getting more members in to assist with things like this."

To donate to the Gentry family GoFundMe, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/pfk8e-gentry-family.

To donate clothes to the Cook family, contact the Spring Creek Volunteer Fire Department at 828-622-7108.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Local chief: 'Volunteer fire departments are going to come to an end'