South Point VFD does not have enough radios for all the seats on the trucks and the ones they have do not work consistently! This is putting not only their lives at risk but those of us they are trying to save!!!

They have requested to be able to purchase 15 radios for a mere $3,000 and the request was turned down by the board. This is mainly due to the fact that Gaston County has been trying to upgrade all of the radios in the county. However, they have been working on this project for a few years and there is no end in sight because it involves not only purchasing the upgraded radios but also upgrading the infrastructure. Is $3,000 really worth a life??? Do we really need to wait until a firefighter or the person they are trying to save dies before we do something in the meantime?

I am not a member of the fire department and those that are will never say anything to the general public about this but I believe it needs to be addressed because it affects us as citizens of the district. Even if you live in Belmont or a surrounding district, if you have a house fire, South Point VFD will likely be called to respond as well. They are in incredible group of volunteers who give up many hours of their time to be well trained and prepared to respond to our needs without any monetary compensation. Let's speak up and let the board know that this is NOT ok!!!

The annual community meeting will be held on April 10th at 7PM at the South Point VFD (2300 South point Rd Belmont, NC). Elections for the board will be held at this time. If you live in the fire district and may be interested in sitting on the board, please reach out to the fire department at 704-825-3166.

Please sign this petition to show your support! Of course, having a large showing of community support there as well will be the most effective.

If you would like to reach out to me directly, please call me at 704-634-9021.

Stacy Manning

304 Belwood Drive