Midway’s assistant fire chief: ‘Someone could die’

Beneath ragged insulation batts and a sagging ceiling held up by zip ties, Deputy Chief Jonathan Campbell walked through the Midway Volunteer Fire Department’s station house Monday night, pointing out dire problems.

A ceiling tile covered with black mold bulges with water. Every time it rains, he said, walls and the roof leaks.

The station’s two engines, dating from 1997 and 2008, are reliable, he said. But generators on both engines are broken — as are the hydraulic pumps needed to work the “jaws of life.”

The serious issues, coupled with the department’s limited access to water and a backlog of unfiled paperwork, have caused Midway’s fire insurance rating to drop to the lowest possible rating, meaning that residents will face their own insurance increases, said Campbell. But city officials, he said, have been slow to act.

Campbell’s frustration boiled over after a city council meeting Monday, during which Midway’s elected officials discussed three bids for asbestos abatement and new insulation for the fire station but took no vote to accept them.

“I love this department,” Campbell told The Current . “Midway is my hometown, and when I first started (at) this department, other than the station, being around the guys and everything, it was a jam-up place to be. But just not getting anything in return from the city, not getting the things that we need, the help that we need….it’s very disheartening.”

The volunteer firefighters in Midway said elected officials have not been responsive to repeated requests since 2023 to fix or replace critical lifesaving equipment. For a team that risks their lives and no salary, the disregard is hard to stomach.

The Current has requested comment from Mayor Levern Clancy via e-mail. Multiple calls to Mayor Pro Tem Clemontine Washington’s phone did not go through last week and she left Monday’s city council meeting without answering questions.

“Mayor Clancy only comes here if I, if I tell him that I absolutely need to speak with him in person,” Campbell said, adding that no one had told him the bids were on that night’s agenda.

Firefighter paramedic Scott Nordstrom added, “Mayor Pro Tem Washington is generally up here every week, she comes out here almost every Monday, and sits on the couch in there. And that’s about as far as that goes.”

Both Campbell and Nordstrom have full-time firefighting jobs — in Chatham County. In Midway, they receive a small stipend for each time their crews are called out to abate a fire or save a life in a car wreck. Campbell gets $18; Nordstrom gets $15.

Campbell, as acting chief for the Midway force, explained that his criticisms of city leaders come from a place of good intention. He said the Midway VFD could pass Georgia’s minimum requirements for fire departments. But he’s outraged that the city leaders are satisfied with that low level.

“I grew up here, I still live here, and I don’t appreciate my family’s taxes going through the roof because (the mayor and council) can’t do their job. I’m giving them everything they need. All they’ve got to do is make phone calls, and yet they don’t,” said Campbell.

Despite his dedication and seniority, however, he said current city leaders rarely engage with him about the needs he has identified since 2023.

At the top of the list, he said, are funds to replace basic safety equipment for his men. Most personal safety gear has a 10-year life span, he said. At Midway, most will expire in 18 months, and it takes that long to replace the kits, he said.

Another urgent purchase, he said, is repairs to the fire engines’ extrication equipment, the tools necessary to pry open a mangled car.

“The extrication equipment is important because if either a traveler passing through Midway or someone who lives in Midway gets into an accident, and they’re pinned in a vehicle and they can’t get out, we have to have our extrication equipment to get them out and give them the medical treatment they need,” Campbell said.

For now, Midway VFD has to call another agency to assist if they are called to a crash where one or more people are entrapped, which can cost precious minutes. ”Depending on where we’re at within the city, it could be 10 to 15 minutes before the county can get to us,” Campbell said. “Somebody could die.”

A lack of a working generator means that his volunteer force can’t be as effective at night because that piece of equipment runs lights from the truck to the fire, or crash site.

In 2021 Midway’s proposed budget called for a 5% increase in capital spending to fund firefighting gear and equipment. That year, the county had a proposed fire department budget of $47,502, which Campbell said was not enough to replace all the volunteer’s personal equipment. It’s unclear how much money the city council has set aside in 2023 or 2024 for firefighting equipment. The city clerk did not respond to requests for copies of the budget.

Another issue that complicates the volunteers’ jobs is that they have lost access to the state’s free reporting software to file their reports. Nordstrom had spent hours of his free time taking the paper reports and putting them into the electronic system.

Amid the frustration is a lack of clarity about the MVFD’s future. The city has placed an ad saying it is hiring multiple firefighters for an apparently new full-time force. It’s unclear where the city is getting those funds. The city hired one full-time firefighter at its March 11 meeting; she resigned on April 8.

Nordstrom said he’s disheartened that the cash-strapped city hasn’t thought more creatively about how to better equip his team. Some officials, he said, have promised to donate part of the proceeds of the annual Miss Midway contest, but he claims the MVD hasn’t seen any funds.