A no-frills firehouse in Waynesboro’s west end could halve response times there, but the fire chief is skeptical of the City Council majority’s plans to staff the station with a dozen volunteers.

Fire Chief Charlie Scott says it is difficult to recruit and retain volunteers who already have full-time jobs.

But the majority bloc of Mayor Tim Williams, Vice Mayor Frank Lucente and Councilman Bruce Allen are concerned that the cost of paying for an additional 12 full-time firefighters would cost the city in excess of $600,000 yearly. When factoring in benefits, the average yearly compensation for city firefighters is about $58,000.

via Fire standards | Waynesboro News Virginian.