MIDWAY — Liberty County’s fire services has made its pitch to Midway City Council about taking over its fire department.

Liberty County Fire Chief Brian Darby laid out a proposal to Midway council members at their Monday evening meeting, an agreement that eventually would build a new station south of the city on Highway 17 and have as many as six firefighters and three lieutenants in five years dedicated to Midway’s coverage area.

In the meantime, there is a proposed timeline for fire services that could go into effect as soon as January 1, 2025, with fire services conducted out of the county’s Miller Park headquarters.

Darby also proposed adding six full-time firefighters, split among the three shifts per day, and additional engine to be housed at Miller Park.

While he didn’t have final costs for the plan to present, Darby said there would be one-time costs up front to address some of the city’s equipment, such as its extrication tools.

In that first year, under the plan, the county and city would start looking at a spot to build a new station and ordering a new engine for the city. The city’s current fleet includes a 1997 model and a 2010 model engine.

“Those trucks do have some age on them,” Darby said.

The lead time between ordering new fire engines and their delivery can be anywhere from two to three years, the chief added.

“You have to plan accordingly and plan ahead of time,” he said.

In the second year, the plan calls for six firefighters and the start of construction of a new station. The following year, in 2027, the station will be ready and increasing staffing levels, adding a shift lieutenant to the six firefighters. Those personnel will occupy the new station, if built.

“That will give you two firefighters and one lieutenant every single day,” Darby said.

In 2028 and 2029, staffing levels would increase with an additional three firefighters. The contract also includes any cost-of-living adjustments needed for personnel.

“What that would give Midway and surrounding unincorporated areas is three firefighters per shift per day and one lieutenant,” Darby said.

Darby said if the proposal is agreed upon, the current Midway fire station will not be used in the future.

“For me, that building is going to be more wasteful for funds. If you build fire stations too close to each other, then you’re not helping yourself with ISO,” he said.

Darby said the county’s department will respond, and has done responded, to certain call types in the city.

“We do need to get some kind of temporary agreement in place until a full county fire plan can be established,” he said.

The proposal would be for a period of five years and there would termination clauses included for the county and the city.

The city’s fire department has been inactive since many of its volunteers quit following an ongoing dispute with the city council over the condition of the station and the condition of the department’s equipment.

“The reason we got to this point is because we had volunteers that got mad with the council,” Mayor Levern Clancy said. “So you don’t make decisions when you’re mad. And they started downsizing (sic) the council. They thought they were hurting the council. They hurt the community more so.”

Former interim chief Jonathan Campbell said the volunteers never intended to hurt the council or the city and many Midway residents have reached out to him with their support for his attempt to do his job.

“My fight was not on a personal level with the council; my fight was for the safety of the citizens and my firefighters,” Campbell said. “Our intentions were to get the city council to do the things that needed to be done to protect the lives and property of the citizens and residents who reside and pass through Midway. They are who matter.”

Darby said it has become more difficult for local governments to rely on volunteer departments because of the amount of training required to continue to be a certified firefighter. He recalled starting as a volunteer for the county’s fire department, which had one station and covered 58 square miles. Now, the county has 300 square miles to cover. There were 114 volunteers then, he said.

Volunteers have to have 260 hours of training each year, on top of their full-time jobs, Darby pointed out.

“It is hard to be a volunteer in the state of Georgia,” he said. “The economic growth that is going on today, it is hard to keep up with those volunteers. More and more municipalities are having to get into some kind of paid service because of the amount of call volumes people are facing.”

It takes 345 hours just to get initial training, Darby said, even before the annual 260 hours of training required.

Going to part-time firefighters was a huge milestone for the county, Darby added, though those part-timer firefighters would be called back to their full-time jobs in times of disaster.

The chief also cautioned that the plan isn’t ready to put in place. The county commission and the city council each must agree to it, he pointed out. County commission Chairman Donald Lovette and 1st District Commissioner Marion Stevens, whose district includes Midway, were in attendance at the meeting.

“By no means is this a done deal,” Darby said. “It is a path forward for both of us.”