MULLENS, WV (WVNS)– A local fire department is in need of rescuing itself.

The Mullens Fire Department is in danger of falling into the Slab Fork river according to fire chief Justin England.  The department started noticing cracks in the walls and the floor and water in the bays would drain through the cracks in the floor. 

The department called their insurance company who sent an engineer to the department and determined the building was damaged during the 2001 flood. According to England, the engineer told them the building was guaranteed to collapse.  The current insurance would not cover their damage so they have no choice but to move.

“They told us it was basically on us that we’d have to go back to 2001 to the insurance company that covered us then and the statute of limitations has run out as far as any help from them,” said England. “They told us anything that happens to this building it’s on us.”

There is good news because the fire department has secured land beside the summit bank building. They are applying for grants and looking into other financial avenues to help build a new fire department.