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As of Tuesday night, Lakeview Fire Department has closed and will no longer be serving the community due to a lack of personnel. Randy Hudson, president of the fire association, met with the fire department on Wednesday night about the closing.

“They just don’t have time for it,” Hudson said, after the meeting which also included Lynn Coker, its vice president, and James “Moto” Williams of the Forestry Commission and the Chambers County Commission. 

Without interest from the community, the nearby fire departments in Standing Rock and Fredonia are currently servicing the coverage area instead. 

Hudson said that the fire department will be officially shut down by the state on Jan. 31. 

The volunteer fire department sits about three miles north of Lanett and covers areas from County Road 289 to 216 and from Country Road 212 to 222. 

“We’d love to see it stay open, but it’s beyond our control,” Hudson said. “If they want to close it, then we have no choice but to close it, and we’ll just have to cover the area with what we can.”

Hudson said it takes him about 12 minutes to get to the area from Standing Rock while it’s about eight to nine minutes from Fredonia but in an emergency, every moment counts. 

“That makes a lot of difference in response [time], and it is going to affect a lot of people,” Hudson said. 

Hudson hopes more interest from the community can help save Lakeview, but the fire department would need to fill several board positions such as a chief, assistant chief, secretary, treasurer and board members in order to remain open after Jan. 31.

Another concern to the closing is that most insurance companies look to see if there is a fire department within five miles of a person’s house. 

There will be another meeting on Jan. 28 at 7 EST to determine the fire department’s fate but until then Hudson said if anyone is interested in volunteering, they can contact him, Williams or LaFayette Fire Chief Jim Doody.