Franklin and Simpson County officials are exploring the idea of combining the Simpson County Fire Department with the cities.

One of the main reasons why city officials are exploring the merge is to improve efficiency within the department. If they do that, they can buy better equipment, which will help them improve insurance rates within the community and save residents money.

In addition to the controversy of merging Simpson County Judge Executive, Jim Henderson fired Simpson County Fire Chief Curtis Burgett for what he calls an inappropriate use of paperwork.

Some Simpson County Firefighters that work with Burgett say that’s not the case.