The Cornelius Fire Chief says he needs more firefighters to keep up with the number of calls, but a Cornelius Town Commissioner says spending is getting out of hand.
As things stand right now, the Fire Chief says both Cornelius Fire Stations will show up if a fire alarm goes off. However, he says that's not enough to meet the national standard. That's why he's asking for four more firefighters in this year's budget.
"As the chief, I feel like we're low, that we're starting to exceed our ability to cover certain calls,” said Cornelius Fire Chief Neal Smith. He’s worried that the 3,000 plus calls that come into Cornelius Fire may get out of hand. "Any kind of odor, smoke inside, fire, or alarms in the town limits of Cornelius requires us to fully respond to that location with all 8 personnel plus a mutual aid from Davison or Huntersville to meet the 12 required by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards."