Attorney General Opinions 
Relating to County Government

2010 Fire & Emergency Services

• If a county-wide fire department has entered into a contract with a volunteer fire department for provision of fire protection services and the volunteer fire department is not complying with the contract, the county-wide fire department could terminate the contract, but the right to terminate would be governed by the terms of the contract unless there is a threat to community safety.  Even though the initial recognition by the fire marshal’s office and authorization for a volunteer fire department to operate within the county requires approval of the county governing body, the cancellation of a contract would not, by itself, affect recognition.  There is no procedure for a county to rescind its initial approval of a fire department’s authority to operate in the county; the state fire marshal would have to make the determination. No statute authorizes a county-wide fire department to prevent a privately owned and duly recognized fire department from operating within the county.  Opinion No. 10-119 (December 28, 2010).