The chief of the Charleston Fire Department in Queens County says they are no longer able to protect the community on their own.
Mike Morton says with only 10 volunteers in the service, the risk is too high for both the community and the members.
That’s why he’s signing over all assets to the Mill Village Fire Department, who will now be responsible for the area.
“It’s the older generation. The younger generation, there’s not enough within the area to have a good complement for a fire department.”
He says this isn’t the first time the idea has been discussed.
“It had been talked about a number of years before and it had kind of stopped in the water. So, the safety part of it; safety of the community, safety of the members, initiated it again.”
Morton says the two departments will start merging into one group, effective immediately.
He says how long the legal process of amalgamation will take is still unknown.
