Houston County volunteer firefighters honored for their service | WDHN

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — Houston County’s 17 volunteer fire departments were honored for their service at the county commission meeting Monday morning.

The Houston County Volunteer Fire Department responds to approximately 300 calls for service per year. They respond to wrecks, fires and medical emergencies.

They do this with funding of approximately $40,000 per department.

Volunteers require the same 192 hours of training per year, the same as a full-time firefighter. All this while saving the county millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars.

“The people who elected us expect to have fire protection, which is an implicit expectation. If the volunteers decide they can no longer continue to do this, then the county taxpayer must fund a countywide fire department and it’s going to cost millions of dollars a year,” said Brandon Shoupe, chairman of the Houston County Commission.

Last year, the commission gave the 17 departments $750,000 in additional funds to help them operate.