RUCKERSVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – After cutting them off for a couple of months, the Greene County Board of Supervisors has placed back in service the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company as well as released the entire investigation review. The Board released a statement Friday immediately putting the Company back in service after what they said was “a due diligence review that included an external investigation”. The new letter said “the department has been able to train maintain equipment and fundraise” since the Board placed them out of service May 15. The board continued that “the Board of Supervisors and RVFC are working collaboratively to implement the necessary remediation measures, oversight protocol, and compliance standards required for full operational restoration”.

The board placed RVFC out of service for the time period starting May 13 among various allegations that included pending criminal charges against an assistant chief, alleged operation deficiencies, and question about command roles. They did so assigning volunteer companies in Stanardsville and Dyke covering the areas where Ruckersville was receiving calls, to the consternation of many community residents. Some, including former Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner, were concerned about the increased response time the other companies required to get to certain locations.

“I travel through Ruckersville, I drive to DC through there a lot. A lot of transportation accidents and those kind of things that happen, and I do business there. So that kind of concerned me if I’m going to be coming into that community, not only for the citizens but for all of us that visit or do business in Greene,” Werner told WINA’s The Schilling Show July 9.

Virginia Department of Fire Programs Deputy Director Nicholas Nanna after a June meeting at RVFC requested by Greene County Administration concluded in a document obtained by The Free Enterprise Forum, “Stakeholders must take immediate action to return the RFD to operational status. There is a gap in service delivery that creates a liability for the County”.

With RVFC back in service, the County has made available external investigation data concerned with an April reckless driving charge for which RVFC Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Hord has pleaded guilty. Chief Hord is implicated of speeding 73 in a 55 on Seminole Trail driving a fire truck without lights indicating they were on a call, as well as clipping a sheriff’s vehicle in an Amicus Road scene which a report said could have been avoided.

The investigation documents include a formal complaint letter from a former RVFC volunteer who claims he and his son were expressing “deep concerns regarding the negative experiences” they “encountered as volunteers at the Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Company” over a-year-and-a-half.

The complaint asserts “a lack of support, inadequate training, unprofessional behavior from officers, and significant issues with communication. These experiences have negatively impacted our
ability to serve effectively and have diminished our enthusiasm for the vital work that volunteer fire services provide.”

The investigation also outlines an April 1 Judge Road after-incident fire report alleging “improper risk assessment, lack of incident command, lack of accountability, inadequate communications and a lack of or failure to follow standard operating procedures”.

The document stated, “The efforts at the scene were marred with advanced fire conditions, inadequate staffing, extended response times, a lack of command and control, water supply issues,
failures to follow established policies and interagency conflict. Left uncorrected, these challenges present a grave opportunity to exacerbate property loss unnecessarily, and they also leave the
community and fire service personnel at risk for injuries or something more significant.”

Some similar issues are reported at a Route 33 hazmat incident about three weeks later.

The investigation also alleges, “Despite three requests for participation and confirmation of attendance, there was no response from RVFC nor did anyone from RVFC attend the May 13, 2025, (Active Threat) training.

Other allegations in the review include eight pages of emergency calls and equipment purchases.

Click here to view the entire investigation report.