If a fire were to break out in your home tonight, how long would it take for firefighters to respond?

The answer depends on many things. But one of the things on the list is whether or not you have a paid fire department nearby.

This week one Kanawha County family learned that the hard way when their home in Mink Shoals was destroyed because it took volunteer fire fighters about half an hour to get there.

The only West Virginia counties that have paid firefighters in our region are Kanawha, Cabell, Mingo and Logan.

The rest are all volunteer and that includes Putnam County.

It's just one of those things everyone assumes. A volunteer fire department can do just as good a job but by not having any paid people at the station, it does mean there are certain times of the day, where there can be a real delay.

Erica Toler of Hurricane has enough to worry about with 2 kids, but she also just found out there are no paid firefighters in the entire county and that now adds to her worries.

She says “That’s very frightening. Very scary and I did not realize that.”

She says she just never thought about it but Hurricane Mayor Scott Edwards has. That’s because he's been a volunteer firefighter for the last 20 years. He's hoping in the next year the city will be able to hire a few firefighters full time.

He says “It's a great service you can provide to a city and the residence, let them know if they dial 911 and have a house fire. Maybe someone is trapped in the fire maybe they will get an immediate response. Not a delayed response.”

If there's a fire in Putnam County it's not uncommon for dispatch to send out 2 fire stations just to make sure they get enough firefighters at the scene. The county commission is keenly aware of the problem and the fire service board in fact says they're hoping to hire on some paid firefighters sometime this spring.

Mayor Edwards says “There's many times during the day when we can get people out. But there's also many times where it's a delayed response. Sometimes no one shows up and you have to rely on say Culloden and Winfield for a call in Hurricane or Teays Valley.

He also says it is simply a money issue all across the board. But as soon as Wal Mart and other businesses come to Hurricane he hopes to use some of that money to hire two or three firefighters full time.

One more thing you might not have thought of: Your home insurance rate.

We spoke with BJ Hill, an Allstate Agent in Hurricane and she says the cost does vary depending on how the fire department is rated. Totally volunteer department does get a lower rating, so it's also costing you more.