A volunteer fire house in McDowell County is back in service after it was closed earlier this year for severe deficiencies. The West Virginia Fire Marshal’s office announced Wednesday the Northfork Volunteer Fire Department has reopened as of Wednesday. The department was forced to close in March 2018 when complaints were made to the state Fire Marshal. An inspection detected out-of-date fire fighting gear and a severe lack of personnel in the department. Officials say the department has completed the process of remedying those problems and will now resume providing fire service to its territory in McDowell County. The Fire Marshal’s office stressed during the department’s closure, those living in the service area were never without fire service as other departments in the county expanded their territories to include the Northfork district.