Greene County’s Cedar Creek VFD permanently closing

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Cedar Creek Volunteer Fire Department has decided to close its doors after over 50 years of service.

“We’ve really been struggling membership-wise,” said Fire Chief CJ Vickery. “It’s a real struggle for what the demands are, to become a volunteer fire department.”

Vickery told News Channel 11 that its not just about finding volunteers but also staffing, in general.

“It’s not just solely how many people you have to answer calls, it’s the capability to do all the required training,” said Vickery. “Having the time to also do the in-house training, paid training meetings, fundraisers and all that.”

St. James VFD and South Greene VFD are now splitting the calls Cedar Creek would normally pick up.

“Everybody is still within the five-mile radius of the fire department,” said Isaac Ottinger, Fire Chief at St James VFD. “No one has anything to worry about.”

Adding more calls will make response times slower, but Ottinger said it will only add time by seconds.

Ottinger told News Channel 11 that finding volunteers is something other volunteer departments are experiencing, too.

“It is a sad day when any fire department has to close,” said Ottinger. “Unfortunately, the whole county, as far as volunteer fire departments go, everybody’s dealing with that.”

Vickery said at this moment, she does not believe that Cedar Creek Volunteer Fire Department will reopen.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.