That’s the message Person County Fire Marshal Johnny Gentry will take to the Person Board of County Commissioners when that board convenes for its annual retreat at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Person County Office Building.

Gentry said Tuesday that this presentation is titled, “Person County Funding for Improved Fire Protection.”

The goal he hopes to achieve is to acquire “adequate tax-based funds for the current and future needs of Person County volunteer fire and rescue departments,” Gentry said.

There are a total of seven volunteer fire departments in Person County. “Eight with the [Person County] Rescue Squad and nine with Semora [Volunteer Fire Department],” added Gentry.

Of the more than $897,000 allotted for fire protection by the county, the current level of funding for the volunteer fire departments is just over $472,500, according to Gentry. The county allocates about $60,000 annually to each volunteer department for equipment. The departments must meet other operating expenses, however, via other means, typically through multiple fund-raisers throughout the year and solicitations for donations from fire district residents.

Gentry said the current level of funding for the volunteer departments equates to $23.61 per capita per year.

Gentry noted that volunteer firefighters responded to 2,436 calls last year. That number, he added, did not include calls inside the city limits of Roxboro.

Between training and call response, Gentry said, volunteer firefighters logged a total of 13,322 hours last year.

“I’m not saying that we necessarily need to have a [fire] tax, but we do need to have adequate funding,” Gentry said. “We need to establish funding plans for the future because the population of our fire districts continue to grow and our call volumes are increasing annually.”