KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — A small fire station on Duncan Road, near West Knoxville, is shutting down after Rural Metro said it has had difficulty staffing it.
Rural Metro said in 2017, it signed an agreement to effectively experiment with having an enhanced response crew serving the Riverbend community. The fire station was meant to be run by a mostly volunteer engine without any career staffing.
However, Rural Metro said it was not able to find the personnel to staff the engine, and in particular had difficulty finding trained drivers. It also said that service delivery was not enhanced by creating the small fire department.
So, Rural Metro said it was shuttering the garage and ending the lease on its truck. The area will continue to be covered by Station 17 at Timbergrove Drive and Northshore Drive, Rural Metro said.
A full statement from Rural Metro is available below.
"In 2017, we entered into an agreement to conduct an experiment to enhance response to the Riverbend community. It was to run a reserve (essentially volunteer) engine with zero career staffing on Duncan Road out of a garage that housed an Engine we leased from a private citizen. We were unable to find the personnel to staff the engine, in particular trained drivers. Due to this (and the fact that service delivery was not enhanced) we decided to shutter the garage that housed the engine and end the lease of the truck. Our Station 17 at Timbergrove and Northshore has served the area since moving to that location in 1998, fully staffed with professional, trained firefighters."
