Liberty Fire District Assistant Chief Tony Roy’s refusal to send a tanker truck to a burning home in another jurisdiction has sparked discussion in Walton County over local mutual aid agreements.
At 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25, Walton County Fire Rescue requested that Liberty dispatch a truck to a house fire at 169 Lorenz Drive near DeFuniak Springs.
A dispatcher relayed the message to the independent fire district and a man identified by several sources as Roy got on his radio.
“You’ll need to bypass Liberty due to funding considerations of the county,” he told the dispatcher.
Walton County Fire Chief Bobby Martin said Liberty’s refusal to respond came at a critical time in the fight to save the Lorenz Drive home.
Water for fighting fires is scarce in rural north Walton County, Martin said, and the county fire department doesn’t presently have a tanker truck available in that area. A tanker truck from the Argyle independent district was dispatched to help battle the blaze, but the second tanker became a necessity.