The Youngsville Fire Department’s announced Thursday it will stop responding to most calls outside outside city limits, and other departments serving unincorporated portions of Lafayette Parish could follow suit.
With parish funding dwindling and unincorporated voters rejecting a property tax for fire protection this month, municipal fire chiefs say they are concerned their departments will not be reimbursed for calls outside their boundaries.
About 70,000 residents of unincorporated Lafayette Parish receive fire protection from a combination of municipal and volunteer departments, which divide the territory into districts. The departments work on contract with Lafayette Consolidated Government, which is contending with a shrinking parish budget and virtually no reserves.