Can a fire department in one Arkansas county take over or fund a volunteer fire department in another county?
Plain-English summary
Senator Dees asked three related questions about volunteer fire departments crossing county lines: Can the Siloam Springs Fire Department (in Benton County) take over the Cincinnati Volunteer Fire Department in a different county? Can it fund another county's department? Is there a categorical bar?
The AG's answer: no categorical state-law bar. No constitutional provision or statute expressly prohibits the cross-county scenario. But the practical answer depends on how the volunteer fire department was organized. Arkansas recognizes four kinds of volunteer fire departments:
- Private, nonprofit corporations that collect membership fees or dues under A.C.A. § 14-20-108 or § 14-284-225 (often called "subscription" fire departments).
- Fire-protection districts funded through ad valorem tax local benefits under A.C.A. § 14-284-101 et seq. or § 14-284-201 et seq., or suburban fire-improvement districts under § 14-92-201.
- County-created fire departments under § 14-20-108(c).
- County subordinate-service districts under §§ 14-14-708 and -709.
Each form has different governing documents (corporate bylaws, district statutes, county ordinances) that dictate whether and how an outside fire department can exercise oversight or provide funding. The acquiring department needs to:
1. Determine how the volunteer fire department was formed.
2. Review the applicable governing documents.
3. Negotiate or acquire under those terms.
If all three departments (Lincoln, Siloam Springs, and Cincinnati in Senator Dees's example) agree, no state law stands in the way of consolidation, but the legal mechanics will depend on the form each takes.
What this means for you
If you are a fire chief considering taking over a neighboring county's volunteer department
Step one: identify what kind of volunteer department it is. If it is a nonprofit with bylaws, you are looking at a corporate acquisition or merger. If it is a fire-protection district, you are looking at boundary changes governed by the relevant chapter. If it is county-created, the county judge and quorum court control. If it is a subordinate-service district, the host county's ordinance controls. There is no one-size-fits-all path.
If you sit on a volunteer fire department board
Cross-county integration is legally possible but procedurally driven by your governing documents. Pull your articles of incorporation, bylaws, or county ordinance and walk through what they say about merger, dissolution, or transfer of authority. Outside-county departments asking to take over have to meet your terms, not just the other way around.
If you are a county judge considering funding a fire department in another county
Your authority depends on county budgeting rules and the rationale (mutual aid, regional service contracts). Cross-county funding is not categorically barred, but it is also not routine. Document the public benefit to your county and structure it as a service contract or interlocal agreement.
If you live in a rural area covered by a struggling volunteer department
This opinion does not change your service today. It does confirm that consolidation across county lines is legally possible, which can be a path to better service if your volunteer department is short on volunteers or funding.
Common questions
Are there any cross-county mutual aid restrictions?
Arkansas has well-established mutual aid frameworks. Routine mutual aid (one department helping another at an incident) is broadly permissible. The opinion addresses the more aggressive scenarios of authority and funding transfer.
What's the difference between a fire-protection district and a county-created fire department?
Fire-protection districts are special-purpose taxing districts with their own boards. County-created fire departments are arms of the county under § 14-20-108(c). Subordinate-service districts under §§ 14-14-708/-709 are county-created districts that can deliver services within a defined area.
Why does it matter which form the volunteer department takes?
Because the governing documents and the legal procedures for change differ. A nonprofit dissolves under nonprofit corporate law. A fire-protection district has statutory dissolution procedures. Each path has different formalities and approvals.
Can the receiving fire department charge the residents of the absorbed area?
Depends on the funding structure. Subscription, ad valorem tax, county appropriation: each has its own billing path.
Background and statutory framework
A.C.A. § 14-20-108. Authorizes county-created volunteer fire departments and subscription-based volunteer fire departments. AG Opinions 2022-013, 2013-008, 2008-134, 2002-032 distinguish the subscription model.
A.C.A. § 14-284-101 et seq. and § 14-284-201 et seq. Fire-protection districts with ad valorem taxing authority.
A.C.A. § 14-92-201 et seq. Suburban fire-improvement districts.
A.C.A. §§ 14-14-708, -709. County-created subordinate-service districts.
A.C.A. § 14-284-225. Membership/dues-based volunteer departments.
The AG did not have the volunteer department's governing documents and so could not opine on the specific Siloam Springs/Cincinnati scenario. The opinion stops at the categorical "no state-law bar" and points the questioner to the governing documents.
Citations
Statutes:
- A.C.A. § 14-14-708 (county subordinate-service districts)
- A.C.A. § 14-14-709 (county subordinate-service districts)
- A.C.A. § 14-20-108 (county-created and subscription fire departments)
- A.C.A. § 14-92-201 (suburban fire-improvement districts)
- A.C.A. § 14-284-101 (fire-protection districts)
- A.C.A. § 14-284-201 (fire-protection districts)
- A.C.A. § 14-284-225 (membership-based volunteer departments)
Other AG opinions:
- 2025-028, 2023-076, 2022-013, 2013-008, 2008-134, 2004-294, 2002-032, 2001-351, 99-346, 97-377, 96-114
Source
Original opinion text
BOB R. BROOKS JR. JUSTICE BUILDING
101 WEST CAPITOL AVENUE
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
Opinion No. 2025-103
October 15, 2025
The Honorable Tyler Dees
State Senator
2584 North Hico Street
Siloam Springs, Arkansas 72761
Dear Senator Dees:
I am writing in response to your request for my opinion concerning volunteer fire departments. You ask three questions:
- Does state law generally preclude a fire department in one county from exercising authority and oversight over a volunteer fire department in a separate county?
- Does state law preclude a fire department in one county from funding and financially supporting a fire department located in a separate county?
- Does anything in state law preclude the Siloam Springs Fire Department, which sits in Benton County, from assuming authority over the Cincinnati Volunteer Fire Department if all departments (Lincoln, Siloam, and Cincinnati) agree upon such an arrangement?
Brief response: To answer all three questions together, no constitutional provision or statute expressly prohibits the scenario you describe. But whether a fire department may exercise authority over or provide funding to a volunteer fire department depends on how the respective fire departments are organized. The volunteer fire department in question may operate under a contract, bylaws, or ordinances that dictate the terms under which another fire department may exercise oversight or provide support.
DISCUSSION
Question 1: Does state law generally preclude a fire department in one county from exercising authority and oversight over a volunteer fire department in a separate county?
Question 2: Does state law preclude a fire department in one county from funding and financially supporting a fire department located in a separate county?
Question 3: Does anything in state law preclude the Siloam Springs Fire Department, which sits in Benton County, from assuming authority over the Cincinnati Volunteer Fire Department if all departments (Lincoln, Siloam, and Cincinnati) agree upon such an arrangement?
Generally, no constitutional provision or statute expressly prohibits the scenario you describe. But how a fire department may exercise authority over a volunteer fire department, and how it funds that department, depends on how the respective fire departments are organized.
This Office has long opined that there are several forms of "volunteer fire departments":
- Private, nonprofit corporations collecting membership fees or dues under A.C.A. §§ 14-20-108 or 14-284-225;
- Fire-protection districts that access local benefits to be collected with ad valorem taxes under either A.C.A. §§ 14-284-101 et seq. or §§ 14-284-201 et seq., or suburban fire-improvement districts that access local benefits to be collected with ad valorem taxes under A.C.A. § 14-92-201, et seq.;
- County-created fire departments under A.C.A. § 14-20-108(c); or
- County-created subordinate-service districts under §§ 14-14-708 and -709.
Thus, depending on how the volunteer fire department in question was formed, it could operate under a contract, bylaws, or ordinances that dictate whether and how another fire department may exercise oversight or provide support. The acquiring fire department would want to first determine how the volunteer fire department was formed and then review the applicable governing documents to determine how best to proceed.
Assistant Attorney General William R. Olson prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General