Lumberton Fire Department Needs Help From the Community to Grow

It's one of the fastest growing towns in Texas, but did you know that Lumberton does not have any paid firefighters on duty?  Instead, they still rely totally on help from volunteers.  That's why the fire department is asking for help to change that by passing a two cents sales tax increase this coming Saturday.

Fire officials say during the day, most of their 40 to 50 volunteer firefighters are working their full time jobs.  They say the money they're asking for would guarantee an answer to the community's emergency calls during the 'day'.

Lumberton Fire and E.M.S. Chief Dennis Gifford says from its existence, Hardin County Fire District #2 has operated solely on volunteer help to respond to emergencies like this one during daytime hours.  But if the community passes the two-cent sales tax increase on the ballot, it will give the department $21,000 a month to pay three to four part-time firefighters to be on duty from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

Chief Gifford says while the paid positions aren't critical right now, the community has to allow its services to grow with them before it's too late.

"There are two ways for you to have a paid volunteer fire department, one of which is to have a careful, step by step method that you can implement with some sphere of control and influence. the other way is to have a devastating house fire one day and nobody arrives," he said.

Gifford says if the tax passes, the Lumberton Fire Department will have the first paid fire employees in all of Hardin County.  If the tax does 'not' pass, Gifford says the fire department will have to wait another year to come back to the community with the proposal again.