By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Morgan County Fire Chief Mark Melvin and Russell Thrasher, captain at Station 10, gave tours of five county fire stations and one substation to three county commissioners.
Commissioners Andy Ainslie, Philip Clack, and Donald Harris toured Central, Rutledge, Fairplay, Bostwick, and Apalachee stations as well as the Apalachee sub-station earlier this month.
Melvin said the firemen elect their chiefs. 
“We have pretty good chiefs,” he said, adding that some have more experience than others.
When a fire occurs, Melvin said they page out the three closest stations.
For a Christmas Eve fire that occurred around 2 a.m., Melvin said they had about 39 volunteers show up.
Volunteers are not paid per call, he said, but for their training. Volunteers are reimbursed up to $80 per month for attending training sessions.
Chiefs are paid a monthly stipend.
If volunteers attend 50 percent of their meetings and make it to 50 percent of the fires in their district, they also get to participate in the state pension.
The county contributes $15 to the state pension per qualified person each month.
Melvin said the volunteers want a station they can be proud of.
For example, at Station 2, which is Central, Chief Joe Abercrombie has requested carpet and cabinets in the living area.

Printed in the January 31, 2013 edition