Victoria county fire department?

Victoria County is creating its own fire department in hopes of getting more grants to reduce the drain on local tax funds.

“It just kind of made sense,” said Ron Pray, the county fire marshal. “We need to look for every single avenue we can to save the taxpayers money.”

The county currently has an aircraft rescue firefighting crew stationed at the Victoria Regional Airport that deals only with emergencies involving aircraft.

The new county fire department will consist of both the airport crew and any volunteer firefighters in the county who want to join. The volunteers can respond to fires anywhere in the county.

“Right now what’s going to happen is to change the name from Victoria Regional Fire Department to Victoria County Fire Department,” Pray said. “That way we increase our scope and mission from aircraft rescue firefighting to municipal service and aircraft rescue firefighting.”

That will open up the possibility of getting grants that weren’t available to a department that just deals with aircraft mishaps. Grant sources could include the Rural Fire Defense Fund, Assistance to Firefighters Grants, Texas Forest Service and possibly federal stimulus money, Pray said.

County Commissioner Kevin Janak said those grants would help reduce the drain on the local budget. That would free the local money for other projects or help the county deal with the effects of the recession.

“We need to change with the times,” Janak said.

Pray would become the fire marshal and fire chief for the new department.

The Victoria Fire Department also provides fire and ambulance service to rural parts of the county through a contract with the county.

“Some components of a theoretical concept were discussed with me,” said Vance Riley, the Victoria city fire chief. But he still doesn’t have all the details.

Nursery Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Kelly said he has no problems with the new county department.

“Any volunteers we can get out there helping us take care of lives and property are always a good thing,” he said.

Kelly and the other members of that department may look into the possibility of joining the county fire department, he said.

“All of our members do what they can,” he said. “If we’re needed anywhere in the county, we’ll go.”

Fire Chief Dave Garza, with the Telferner Volunteer Fire Department, also supports the idea.

“We all think it’s a great idea,” he said “The entire department is all for it.”

Officials are hopeful creating a county fire department will provide grants to help build a new fire station for the Telferner Volunteer Fire Department.

It would probably be located at the Victoria Regional Airport with easy access to the Houston Highway. The volunteer department would eventually be disbanded and absorbed into the county department.

“As a department, we see this as a great thing,” said Dave Garza, the Telferner chief. “Telferner has always been looking for a piece of property.”

Telferner currently houses its equipment in a building owned by a church. It hopes to leave that property to return use of the building to the church.

“You’re probably talking two to three years down the road, possibly longer depending on funding,” said Ron Pray, the county fire marshal.
By David Tewes, The Victoria Advocate