Greene County conducting review of Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company

In a statement distributed to media outlets on May 20, the chair of the Greene Board of Supervisors said the county has hired a firm to perform a review of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company.

“The public is not at risk as Stanardsville Volunteer Fire Company and Dyke Volunteer Fire Company are arranging their staffing to handle call volumes from Ruckersville’s first-due area,” said Chair Steve Catalano. “Additionally, surrounding jurisdictions have been notified and we hold Mutual Aid Agreements with them to respond to calls in our County.”

Supervisors discussed the company issue during a closed session on May 13 but a review of the view indicates no actions were taken.

The statement gives no indication of what the review is about and the agency’s Facebook page does not provide any clues. Neither does the website of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company which tells us the agency was founded in 1948.

The statement raises many more questions than it answers.

“We will not be discussing ongoing reviews in the media, in public, or online,” the statement continues. “We appreciate the concerns the public have raised regarding information released to the media from outside officials County government channels, but all decisions made by the Board of Supervisors are made with due diligence and with the public’s well-being foremost.”

The Piedmont Recorder reports today that another media outlet reported Monday that Supervisors had suspended the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company. Take a look there for more info.

There is nothing on the website of the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company to indicate there are any issues. Take a look at Heather Price Ives’ story posted on May 21, 2025 on the Charlottesville Daily Progress website. It’s behind a paywall, though.

Since the decision, at least one member of the Board of Supervisors has called the decision a mistake. At-Large Supervisor Francis McGuigan has a Facebook account called the Greene Sentinel, a fact reported by the Free Enterprise Forum in a May 19 post.

On May 25 at 7:21 a.m., McGuigan described some of the discussions in closed session in a three paragraph post:

Not every Supervisor agreed with shuttering the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company. In particular, the increased response times and lack of redundancy without the RVFD were arguments against closing this community safety organization.

While “investigations” proceeded it was suggested to place the Stanardsville Volunteer Fire Department temporarily in change of both units to receive calls, manage dispatch, and direct on-sight operations.

The RFD pays a vital service to Greene County. It is not to late to reverse the decision.

Greene County covers an area of 127-square miles. Earlier this year, the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia estimated that around 1,165 people have moved to Greene County since the 2020 Census. They project an increase to 27,315 by 2050.

Before you go: This story was originally posted in the May 20, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted here six days later. Too long, perhaps. But this gave me the opportunity to add more information.