MIDWAY, Ga. (WTOC) – Midway residents are expressing concern that the city’s volunteer fire department is in danger and may have to close.

The conditions at the station now affect more than just the firefighters who work there.

WTOC spoke to local residents about what impact this could have on their wallets.

Alexandra Barnes has lived in Midway for 17 years. It’s a community she loves, so much so that she has bought two homes here.

“The last one I bought was in 2020,” Barnes said.

Barnes said she has never had to call the fire department for help, but she knows how important it is to have one.

“Although we have the new fire station in Miller Park for the county, this was primarily for Midway,” Barnes said.

Now the business is in danger of closing. And that will cost them even more money.

“The fire resistance was increased from 5 to 10, which resulted in an increase in my property insurance,” Barnes said.

This ISO rating is used by an insurance company to determine how well a fire department can protect your home and everything around it.

The insurance agent who worked with Barnes confirmed to WTOC that her insurance amount increased from around $700 to over $1,000 due to the classification.

“Our current structure fire equipment is completely, if not some of it, outdated,” said Harley Keeper, volunteer firefighter with the Midway Volunteer Fire Department.

Problems with equipment, mold in the building and, as Harley Keefer calls it, untenable conditions.

He’s a volunteer firefighter at the station. And he says they’ve been complaining to the city for months. That’s led to a number of layoffs and now there aren’t enough workers to maintain the rating.

“The last thing we want to do is leave here,” Keefer said.

It’s a problem that both Barnes and Keefer hope can be solved.

“As long as we have someone here, it will definitely help all of us,” Barnes said.

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