The City of Midway soon could fall under the fire protection blanket of the Liberty County Fire Services.

County commissioners approved entering into a fire services contract with the city, pending any changes wrought by the county’s and city’s legal counsel Midway City Council members did not take action on the agreement at their meeting Monday.

Should Midway agree to the fire protection contract, the city would reimburse the county for the initial year of start-up costs and the county’s fire services would provide the same service for the city as it does in unincorporated areas, county attorney Kelly Davis pointed out.

In order for the city to generate the revenue, a fire protection tax district may be established, Davis said.

Also as part of the agreement, there are mechanisms to ensure payments are made to the county in timely fashion.

“Midway is a great partner,” Davis said. “But based on other agreements in the past, those were included.”

Liberty County Fire Chief Brian Darby has presented Midway’s council with a five-year plan for fire protection that includes building a station south of town to replace the current facility and staffing it with full-time firefighters and commanders.

The county owns the two fire engines that had been housed at the city’s fire department. One of the engines is already 27 years old and needs significant work. The other, a 2010 engine, needs about $15,000 in repairs.

The county currently runs calls for Midway out of its Miller Park headquarters and will continue to do so until a new station can be built. There also are one-time start-up costs to bring the fleet and the existing Midway fire equipment up to the county’s equipment standard.

Chief Darby has proposed dedicating six firefighters to Midway, giving the city two full-time firefighters per day, and his five-year plan calls for nine firefighters, with three lieutenants, to be housed in a station built south of the city on Highway 17.