Accomack County to study a proposal by the Parksley VFD to build a substation at Fisher’s Corner

The County has been approached by representatives of the Parksley Volunteer Fire Company regarding purchasing land owned by the County that is located adjacent to the County’s Fishers Corner Convenience Center.  The Fire Company desires to use this property to construct a substation to be primarily used for EMS purposes. All County Department of Public Safety (DPS) career staff would relocate to this substation from the existing Parksley fire house once constructed.

Both the substation and existing Parksley fire house would remain active in responding to calls with volunteers providing response when needed from their current location and DPS career staff providing response from the new facility in most cases. Essentially, the County would gain a new EMS facility located along the Route 13 corridor at no cost to County taxpayers.

The Director of Public Safety is currently been directed to initiate a response time impact study based on this proposal to determine whether, from a response time perspective, building and staffing this substation is beneficial.  Preliminary data reviewed by the Director does indicate response times will be generally improved by the existence and staffing of this substation.

It should be noted that the property in question is currently designated in the County’s Debris Management Plan as one of four temporary debris storage and reduction sites to be utilized in emergency situations.  The County would have to look for an alternative location if the property is no longer available for that purpose.

The Board of Supervisors voted to authorize the commitment of staff and time to analyze the proposal and make recommendations to the Board during the regular meeting on September 20.