Browntown Residents Deserve Answers on Fire Station Closure

In a recent (July 30) article, your reporter, Roger Bianchini, wrote about the closure of the South Warren Volunteer Fire Department substation in Browntown.

It is quite an extraordinary article in its brevity, poor grasp of the facts leading up to this closure, and its failure to understand why many Browntowners are concerned about the timing, rationale, and potential impact of this decision.

This substation has operated on a shoestring for many years with minimal support from both the Warren County Fire and Rescue Department and the South Warren Fire and Rescue Department. Despite this – thanks largely to the untiring and highly professional work of its one emergency responder, Allan Brockway – it has been able to provide a fast response capability, in coordination with other Warren County first responders, to a large number of local accident and fire emergencies. Action sometimes really does speak louder than words.

The people living in the Browntown Valley are not stupid. They know one small substation cannot meet all of their needs with respect to the provision of emergency services. It would have been nice if your reporter had at least tried to put himself in their shoes and, in particular, to comprehend how their concerns are rooted in a unique geographical location – including the proximity of densely forested mountains, remote house locations, limited road access, and poor cellphone coverage – which puts them at high risk in case of a medical or fire emergency. Add to this the high percentage of senior citizens and people with disabilities living in this mountain community, and it is not difficult to understand why people react strongly when they hear that their only local emergency response capability is being taken away without consultation or warning.

The people of Browntown understand that one highly experienced but poorly equipped firefighter can never meet all of its needs. They value all emergency response services provided by Warren County Fire & Rescue’s highly skilled professionals.

However, you would hardly be surprised to hear that neither I nor most of my neighbors are likely to feel reassured by your reporter’s bold declaration that “Royal Examiner lauds Warren County Fire & Rescue for its proactive stance in addressing a deteriorating situation at the undermanned South Warren substation.” Why would an experienced newspaper reporter even think that such a poorly informed and biased declaration is expected or appropriate?

Browntown would welcome any effort by the Royal Examiner– consistent with its normally high standards of journalism – to help the people of Warren County, and especially those living in South Warren, to better understand why the South Warren Volunteer Fire Department has taken this action now and also why no one from Browntown (with the exception of the current Fire Chief) is currently willing to volunteer at SWVFD.

Brian Wilkinson
Browntown Resident
Warren County, VA

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