West Virginia State Fire Marshal Orders FD Closed

The State Fire Marshall for West Virginia issued an order shutting down the operations of the Coal City Volunteer Fire Department on September 2, 2009 for 90 days. Citing financial irregularities that led to the lack of workers compensation insurance, the SFM said if the problems are not rectified, he will permanently close the department.

An interesting consideration: does the state fire marshal in your state have the authority to shut down a fire department? In most states, the legal authority is not all that clear. Take a look at Chapter 3 in FOLH.