If you strip the fire chief and several others follow him out - it tells me a few things: 1-he was a good leader 2-he had respect of the people who work for him 3-that your incompetence as commissioners has ruined the reputation and safety of your town. 4-resignation to save face is your only option.
What about the 70% that did not quit? Should we automatically assume they did not like the chief that was fired/demoted? Personally I would need much more information to conclude in this matter.
The fact that these are volunteers doesn’t give credibility to your statement. There’s no meat on the bone. This smacks of a beef that has nothing to do,one way or another, about competency.
Hey Vitaly, Or better yet, let the town burn down due to No firefighters. Let the Fire Commissioners FRICK👨🚒 n FRACK 👨🚒don fire gear and play Engine 51. 🚒
There is another video where the chief says he disciplined a member of the fire department for theft. That member is a relative of one of the commissioners. Interesting.
As a firefighter myself and if what you claim is true. Then no discipline is needed. Termination is the only choice. We go into people's homes when they are not home. We go into businesses when they are closed. A thief cannot be allowed to be among us, or we are all guilty.
@@rhoonah5849 Are you a volunteer fireman or woman, because I am. Why are they all at the meeting if they Quit. More theatre, that's all. The Crybaby brigade.
@@kellychamberlain6093 i am a volunteer EMT and volunteer fire fighter in training. They can quit and still go to the meeting to have their voices heard. Was there some theater? Probably but so what. These town officials are responsible for destroying the department.
@@rhoonah5849 Why does firing the chief destroy the department. Our fire chief got fired because he thought he was above the rules laid out by the the officials. Do yourself a favor and do as you are instructed. Because you are a volunteer does not mean you are in charge. This is adult life, not crybaby life. Thanks for responding. Cheers Kelly
It's really good that people are pushing back against these self entitled government people. Most of them are way out of line, and previously didn't seem to have to answer to anyone. Stand proud and strong people!
Ever have a job where things are going great for BOTH the business and the employees, then one or two folks come along and strangle the joy out of the employees until they leave? I have had jobs in the past where I was eager to go to work, I got there early, stayed late, even helped out if needed during lunch. It was almost "magical", and the businesses were doing so well we were exceeding our goals, customers were happy, then it happens a pencil pusher, a control freak, a wiz kid comes along and wrecks it.
In the Navy, had an E7 come in that was used to the big navy way of doing things. Drove moral to the ground and went from a Battle E (High marks ship) to barely passing.
@@jessieboyd9896 Army here, same thing, company ran like a well oiled machine, wrong 1st Sargent came in and 5 months later people were asking for transfers and if denied were ETS ( ending time in service or not reinlisting ).
I would like to know more about the situation to make a judgement but I myself have been in this situation. I was chief of a volunteer department and the city council was against the department, the township trustees were very easy to deal with. My last night on the department I called the city out on a lie, which they had been lying about for months. Two council members called the department nothing but a car wash club twice in a public meeting. It was at that point I realized that I had been missing time with my family for 15 years and this is what myself and my members ment to these individuals. So anyone with a negative opinion of the department should volunteer and see what it really takes.
I feel your pain, brother. As a former city maintenance worker, I've experienced tye same thing. City council members, who have absolutely no clue as to what it takes to do the job, spouting off about how others do their job. More interested in votes than public safety.
I'll tell you what's worse than this, I was a member of a full paid department for 10 years. We worked our asses off to get hired, trained and promoted, only to have the city council constantly find ways to treat us like shyt. The only in the city that got paid less than us was the trash collectors. The only way we could get new apparatus and equipment was when the city was forced to by the city insurance carriers. people started to complain when their taxes went up because of our low protection standards. So it's not just volunteer departments that suffer from indifference by city leaders. Full time Fire departments in most cities are and have always been the red headed step child of city departments.
What's sad is that there are so many of these little fiefdom's around the country. It all comes down to power. It starts with the city dog catcher all the way up to the Mayor, City Manager or Village Commissioners. I grew up in a little township in Michigan. It sure isn't the money they seek (unless you consider the bribes), it's the power they have over other people.
And what is far far worse is the fiefdom's police have, along with police unions to keep any bad cops from getting fired. THAT is the real place to start to make changes.
@@DylansPen And ever worse are the wife beaters, chronic drunk drivers, thieves, child abusers and molesters, drug dealers, crooks, shysters, swindlers, good ol' boys, and others who believe themselves to be above the law, who keep those in charge of those crooked fiefdoms in office by electing them again and again! The first thing they always want gone, each and every time, is the police department. I wonder why that is.....
Earlier this year at the chief disciplined one of the volunteer firefighters for a theft issue. The one who is disciplined is a immediate family member to one city council members.
They should bring back the old tar and feather for corrupt politicians. Countrywide......starting with those occupying seats they weren't elected to.....
I see three admirable things 1- a Chief that stands up to a corrupt council 2- an assistant Chief that stands with their Chief 3- a department that stands as brothers and sisters The community will become aware of the entire situation That you can believe
Seems like the elected official is a terrible leader. He got defensive and engaged in playing pass-the-blame, rather than realizing that this was his responsibility to deal with this problem. Firing the chief because "he wasn't doing as we instructed him" is a vague and terrible excuse. He probably used his expertise in telling the commissioners that they had no idea what they were talking about. They didn't like that because they wanted a chief who was a sycophant, so they fired him. That a third of the department left is very telling as to how much more to the story there is than what the commissioners are telling the people they're supposed to serve.
The ONLY purpose a board has is to manage the budgetary end of the fire department, they have no business managing the day to day operations or the department members, let the men and women actually responding sort that out.
As someone who’s been involved with a VFD in varying capacity over the last 5 years, it shocks me that more people haven’t been made aware just how common this is. While I’ve never personally seen it get so bad that half a department resigned, all 18 fire companies in my county go through some form of heated argument over leadership FREQUENTLY. Whats more is the amount of VFDs that simply refuse to offer/accept help from neighboring departments, and would rather wait for mutual aid that realistically shouldn’t even be called until the 2nd or even 3rd alarm, is actually kind of scary. There are people all over this country that have lost their homes or other property because a fire chief didn’t like the neighboring FD, so he waited 20-30 minutes for help. These kinds of things really make you stop and think - does this already severely limited service have my best interest in heart? Or are they more worried about making a point to their enemies. Its for this reason that Im not entirely opposed to municipalities having a say in (and taking a more active role in) VFDs, so long as they are only involved with administration, and have no say on a fire ground they know nothing about.
I absolutely hate to agree with you. But I will, because with 24 years of Volunteer Fire Rescue, I have seen this happen too. In one case, at a town council meeting, after the fire chief confronted the town council about the BS, and they got into an argument with each other, he tossed his fire pager to the floor in front of them and told them to shove the job up their collective @$$. All thirty four volunteer firefighters had their pagers tossed to the front in less than thirty seconds, and the town was unprotected because of political bs amongst the town politicians
When I was on a volunteer dept the city paid their share of funding. The county always tried to weasel out. One year the fire chief a city commissioner told the county commissioners pay up or we will take the truck to the city limits and wait for the fire to come to us. It was an island so we wouldn't endanger anyone else 2.5 miles to the mainland on one side and hundreds of miles to Florida on the other.
@@nancyjanzen5676 NICE This is something we as a NATION need to get under control. These politicians are supposed to serve us, not the other way around!
@@robertducat-qp7qy i think being volunteer gives people more guts, but when people are paid and that job is the security for the family, people tend to put their heads down and just deal with it more. At the same time when it is volunteers giving a valuable service and then walk away, it gives them leverage over the powers that be, BUT when it is just ordinary people like parents going to school board meetings, the powers that be see no value in the parents and treat them with disdain by calling cops on them or having restraining orders set against them. Who wins depends on where one is on the balance of power.
I lived in rural Tennessee, and yeah. A single crew covering a quarter of the county isn't near enough. Doesn't help that it can take up to 45 minutes to respond to a call. And that's in summer, not winter.
Plain and simple I live around this area and been here for over 10 years plus. Things have gone down hill for years around here. Fire, police can't do their jobs and the government officials are corrupt. That's why I moved away so I don't have to put my tax dollars into a mess that won't get fixed.
@@loganrollo Small town politics. First, the firing of the firefighter needs to be PROVEN to be justified or it IS harassment. May have to get the police/courts involved. Too many times - especially in cities and police departments and even schoolboards - illegal activity is treated as a "personnel problem" and then just swept under the rug, hidden from the public, and continued instead of being properly handled in a court of law. / Sounds like the new chief had problems with his higher-ups, too! But then, people resign for many different reasons.
I know this video has been posted for quite a while but it goes back to what I’ve said more than once; sometimes the only cure is resignation. Sometimes we have to cut our losses and move on no matter how painful they are. It’s a shame I’m facing that now because of a family squabble.
This type of problem is not just in fire departments. Somewhere something broke in many critical jobs. Somehow it became vogue to believe that "management" did not need to actually know the job because everyone was a "specialist". we need to return to the basic premise that you are not eligible to be on the board or commission of a fore department, police department etc. unless you have been one.
Volunteer Firefighter are the lunatics of the Fire Service. There’s only two things I know of that keeps Vollies from fighting fire, Broken Equipment and or bad Leadership. Obviously they supported the Chief.
Not sure what going on but as a firefighter that was on volunteer department you would be amazed at the back Stabbings That goes on. But the one thing it shows who in it for the right reason and who in for themselves
Why aren't the commissioners being transparent? What is happening? The commissioners are elected officials and they owe the voters an explaination. Don't allow them to not give a full rational for their actions.
My uncle is a fire chief at a volunteer based station in vermont. Alot of the towns are volunteer based up there. And when he appealed to the state that law enforment and first responders need better forms of communication and they all basically said that in doing so theyd cause eye soars by putting up towers in the mountains. So peoples lives are not as important as your politcians view...
Hi I'm fr. Canada & I was also a Vollunteer Firefighter at one Time & I'm also Standing up for my fellow Brothers & Sisters & agree with Thier Decision to do They need to do to get Selfish, Greedy & The Corupted People OUT for Good 🇨🇦👊🇨🇦👍🇨🇦👍🇨🇦👍🇨🇦✌🇨🇦👏🇨🇦👊🇨🇦.
You know that the mayor is full of it. * When asked for a reason, he is vague statement about resigning and "He wouldn't do what we told him to do." * When later pressured, he changed to some even vaguer comment about harassment. Which is it? * He's yelling at people because they ran against him rather than keep the discussion about the ex-fire chief. Sorry, but if you want to fire someone, you need a clear reason and you have to document it. If this was legitimate, you'd expect him to say, "We had an issue. We gave him several verbal warnings. On W date we sent an email outlining the issue and met with him. On X date, we had another meeting and gave him a warning letter to be kept on file. On Y date, we gave him a second letter and met to see if there were any personal reasons he couldn't comply. On Z date, we regrettably had voted to remove him from his position. As this is a personnel matter we can't discuss it or release the letters unless Mr. A agrees in writing." This is common sense and anyone in a mayor position (no matter how small the town) knows this -- as should at least one council member, any legal representation, anyone dealing with HR/payroll, etc.
This is what happens when you give the fire company more power than the fire department. Our fire company board of directors know their only job is to raise money and if they over step we will take that from them and they can leave seeing as the actual fire department goes about getting everything we need ourselves or with the help of the town while the money raised by the company is only actually used for ceremonies and end of year christmas parties for members and family.
John. John, John. Do you not see the need for a chain of command in that sort of business? They hire the chief, they fire the chief, that's how it works. Just because they are volunteers does not mean this chain goes away. Cheers Kelly
It’s the age old problem, those “in charge” leading from the rear with no idea what’s happening on the front line! I used to teach, as an unpaid volunteer, at a unit for children who had been excluded from mainstream education. We had great success and most students went on to further education at a local technical school. Those in charge of the purse strings, withdrew funding, preferring to support colour therapy and a gay Internet cafe rather than give disadvantaged youngsters a decent start and some chance to improve themselves, the cafe lasted six months!
@@milesmayhem5440. The whole point was it wasn’t justifiable no matter what project the funds were diverted to, but it was another box ticked, regardless of the damage done!
Yeah this is how a lot of small towns are in America. Lets just say small town living is better in almost every way to big city living. Obviously you dont have the restaurants and as much recreational actiivities to do, but in turn you get areas that a lot more tight knit, a lot safer, and you can actually have a say in your politicians.
The only thing I see here is the egos in the room mean more than the citizens of the community. Good job way to set the example and stick to your departments creed of self before service.
My municipality did the same thing to our chief too! Same BS no explanation spending taxpayers dollars on frivolous things and not focussing on the priorities !
I mean, she was waiting to see which way the wind was blowing before making her call. She showed up in uniform, still working. She waited until she was sure the crowd was behind her before she read her prepared statement then made a big show about quitting. If she was going to quit, she could have done so before the meeting and drove her knife in from the start. As I said, she was waiting to see which way it went before making her call because she wasn't going to stick her neck out. The last bit about doing what's right and not what's easy falls a little flat coming from her.
Her statement could open up a lawsuit against her. Police and fire agencies are not allowed to go on strike. That’s under law. They would have to resign.
Good job y'all. Stand up for what's right. All politicians are corrupt and need to be held accountable for their actions and decisions. That starts with your own local reps.
This is happening more and more everywhere. Just a epidemic of a bigger issue that won’t be solved. It’s only gonna get worse. Most good men don’t want to help anymore.
“He was not following our directions” what you mean is you couldn’t control him anymore, he wasn’t going to be used as some pawn. So in return you got rid of him, don’t like someone questioning your power.
Funny how even the "news channel" protects the commissioners, by not actually reporting what was the primary compliant all those who quit had. Editing the footage to cut away at key moments and not even showing anyone addressing the actual complaints.
A whole department that are volunteers. I would be doing everything I could to make their lives the best it could be. You have no idea how lucky you are/were to have selfless people doing jobs for nothing. Unbelievable.
All too often, this is the case. The commisioners don't have a clue what the fire departments do along with the police departments. Politics needs to stay out of it. All too often the power goes to their heads.
Need the full story. Why was the Chief fired? What's the Chief's side? 1/3 resigned including the Assistant supporting the Chief. The other 2/3s did not which could mean they do or don't know the full story and since it's a volunteer they don't have to resign.
what the hell were they trying to tell the chief to do that he would quit to ignore certain fires? to lets arsonist go? to fire people based upon political beliefs? what did they do they still refused to answer
To The Onalaska Fire Dept I am the host of The Mid West Plainsman Podcast in Iowa, I am a former EMT and current First Responder and I am going to be doing a series of broadcasts on issues with both volunteer and paid departments with city council members or commissioners. Please reach out to me
At first I was with the chief and now im with the Mayor. If the Chief is covering up for Harassment and god know what ever else ethics violations, he has to go. This is why REPORTS and civil actions must be public record so the PEOPLE can be properly informed on who serves them. If I was Mayor and I tried to fire a guy who was obviously caught covering up misconduct but was met with a public who chose the side of their friends instead of facts then there is no point of having a Mayor.
How is this possible that city council intervenes into internal issues of Fire Department? Isnt the commendant choosen by the highuos of FD or something? Captain explain to non American
If you strip the fire chief and several others follow him out - it tells me a few things:
1-he was a good leader
2-he had respect of the people who work for him
3-that your incompetence as commissioners has ruined the reputation and safety of your town.
4-resignation to save face is your only option.
What about the 70% that did not quit? Should we automatically assume they did not like the chief that was fired/demoted? Personally I would need much more information to conclude in this matter.
Or they were as shady as he was.
The fact that these are volunteers doesn’t give credibility to your statement. There’s no meat on the bone. This smacks of a beef that has nothing to do,one way or another, about competency.
110%
Hey Vitaly,
Or better yet, let the town burn down due to No firefighters. Let the Fire Commissioners FRICK👨🚒 n FRACK 👨🚒don fire gear and play Engine 51. 🚒
There is another video where the chief says he disciplined a member of the fire department for theft. That member is a relative of one of the commissioners. Interesting.
...very
🤔
As a firefighter myself and if what you claim is true. Then no discipline is needed. Termination is the only choice. We go into people's homes when they are not home. We go into businesses when they are closed. A thief cannot be allowed to be among us, or we are all guilty.
So, the plot thickens. Lil Johnnie Stickyfingers is kin to one fire comissioner naned FRICK or FRACK. Isn't revenge best served cold in space????
Perculiar indeed
been waiting for years to use that word.
When volunteers quit there's a big problem somewhere.
Yeah they didn't get their way
@@kellychamberlain6093 I hear that Walmart has a special on clues today... you should go buy one.
@@rhoonah5849 Are you a volunteer fireman or woman, because I am. Why are they all at the meeting if they Quit. More theatre, that's all. The Crybaby brigade.
@@kellychamberlain6093 i am a volunteer EMT and volunteer fire fighter in training. They can quit and still go to the meeting to have their voices heard. Was there some theater? Probably but so what. These town officials are responsible for destroying the department.
@@rhoonah5849 Why does firing the chief destroy the department. Our fire chief got fired because he thought he was above the rules laid out by the the officials. Do yourself a favor and do as you are instructed. Because you are a volunteer does not mean you are in charge. This is adult life, not crybaby life. Thanks for responding. Cheers Kelly
Sounds to me like you have commissioners who are ethically challenged. Those fire fighters deserve better.
It's really good that people are pushing back against these self entitled government people. Most of them are way out of line, and previously didn't seem to have to answer to anyone. Stand proud and strong people!
How do these idiots get elected? Do they bribe their way into office?
Hopefully Trump will win and bring retribution and accountability back to government
@@user-mo8gw9om1z lol. you've gotta be kidding.
Ever have a job where things are going great for BOTH the business and the employees, then one or two folks come along and strangle the joy out of the employees until they leave? I have had jobs in the past where I was eager to go to work, I got there early, stayed late, even helped out if needed during lunch. It was almost "magical", and the businesses were doing so well we were exceeding our goals, customers were happy, then it happens a pencil pusher, a control freak, a wiz kid comes along and wrecks it.
Several times. I was lucky to be able to quit and find similar or better jobs, not everyone has that opportunity.
wiz kids are the worst....."you got a problem?" yeh bud you.....and no one had a problem until you got here.
In the Navy, had an E7 come in that was used to the big navy way of doing things. Drove moral to the ground and went from a Battle E (High marks ship) to barely passing.
Big yup.
@@jessieboyd9896 Army here, same thing, company ran like a well oiled machine, wrong 1st Sargent came in and 5 months later people were asking for transfers and if denied were ETS ( ending time in service or not reinlisting ).
I am a fire fighter in Abbeville sc been doing it for 46 years may the good Lord be with all fire fighters
LOL,and towns wonder why nobody wants too volunteer anymore.
I would like to know more about the situation to make a judgement but I myself have been in this situation. I was chief of a volunteer department and the city council was against the department, the township trustees were very easy to deal with. My last night on the department I called the city out on a lie, which they had been lying about for months. Two council members called the department nothing but a car wash club twice in a public meeting. It was at that point I realized that I had been missing time with my family for 15 years and this is what myself and my members ment to these individuals. So anyone with a negative opinion of the department should volunteer and see what it really takes.
I feel your pain, brother.
As a former city maintenance worker, I've experienced tye same thing. City council members, who have absolutely no clue as to what it takes to do the job, spouting off about how others do their job.
More interested in votes than public safety.
I'll tell you what's worse than this, I was a member of a full paid department for 10 years. We worked our asses off to get hired, trained and promoted, only to have the city council constantly find ways to treat us like shyt. The only in the city that got paid less than us was the trash collectors. The only way we could get new apparatus and equipment was when the city was forced to by the city insurance carriers. people started to complain when their taxes went up because of our low protection standards.
So it's not just volunteer departments that suffer from indifference by city leaders. Full time Fire departments in most cities are and have always been the red headed step child of city departments.
What's sad is that there are so many of these little fiefdom's around the country. It all comes down to power. It starts with the city dog catcher all the way up to the Mayor, City Manager or Village Commissioners. I grew up in a little township in Michigan. It sure isn't the money they seek (unless you consider the bribes), it's the power they have over other people.
No wonder our country has gone to hell
.....
Look at this group of Karens!!
And what is far far worse is the fiefdom's police have, along with police unions to keep any bad cops from getting fired. THAT is the real place to start to make changes.
@@DylansPen And ever worse are the wife beaters, chronic drunk drivers, thieves, child abusers and molesters, drug dealers, crooks, shysters, swindlers, good ol' boys, and others who believe themselves to be above the law, who keep those in charge of those crooked fiefdoms in office by electing them again and again! The first thing they always want gone, each and every time, is the police department. I wonder why that is.....
Man, that assistant chief was fired up, no pun intended
So basically a guy who was good at his job was forced to quit because he wouldn't do what some clueless bureaucrats wanted him to
yup.
Earlier this year at the chief disciplined one of the volunteer firefighters for a theft issue. The one who is disciplined is a immediate family member to one city council members.
@@christopherpakney8542
Aaaaahhhh! The smoke clears.
They should bring back the old tar and feather for corrupt politicians. Countrywide......starting with those occupying seats they weren't elected to.....
Cement shoes so they can swim with the fishys
Let's see how these "elected officials" like it when THEIR house catches fire and nobody responds!
I see three admirable things
1- a Chief that stands up to a corrupt council
2- an assistant Chief that stands with their Chief
3- a department that stands as brothers and sisters
The community will become aware of the entire situation
That you can believe
Seems like the elected official is a terrible leader. He got defensive and engaged in playing pass-the-blame, rather than realizing that this was his responsibility to deal with this problem. Firing the chief because "he wasn't doing as we instructed him" is a vague and terrible excuse. He probably used his expertise in telling the commissioners that they had no idea what they were talking about. They didn't like that because they wanted a chief who was a sycophant, so they fired him. That a third of the department left is very telling as to how much more to the story there is than what the commissioners are telling the people they're supposed to serve.
Great to see the community seeking transparency and accountability from its elected leaders.
This is what happens when politicians try to have precidenc over issues of life and safety.
he looked like he was gonna cry when he said you ran against me😂😂😂😂😂
I never understood why city managers and commissioners think they dictate day to day operations if police and fire departments.
Entitled Republicans.
Let me guess ... city council decided to “defund” the fire department for using too much water 💦
Didn’t that actually happen with one department?
Sound's like some council members need to be forcefully recalled and arrested....
The ONLY purpose a board has is to manage the budgetary end of the fire department, they have no business managing the day to day operations or the department members, let the men and women actually responding sort that out.
As someone who’s been involved with a VFD in varying capacity over the last 5 years, it shocks me that more people haven’t been made aware just how common this is.
While I’ve never personally seen it get so bad that half a department resigned, all 18 fire companies in my county go through some form of heated argument over leadership FREQUENTLY.
Whats more is the amount of VFDs that simply refuse to offer/accept help from neighboring departments, and would rather wait for mutual aid that realistically shouldn’t even be called until the 2nd or even 3rd alarm, is actually kind of scary.
There are people all over this country that have lost their homes or other property because a fire chief didn’t like the neighboring FD, so he waited 20-30 minutes for help.
These kinds of things really make you stop and think - does this already severely limited service have my best interest in heart? Or are they more worried about making a point to their enemies.
Its for this reason that Im not entirely opposed to municipalities having a say in (and taking a more active role in) VFDs, so long as they are only involved with administration, and have no say on a fire ground they know nothing about.
I've never bothered joining the VFD's in my area, due to drama and pettiness. I simply don't have the patience for it.
I absolutely hate to agree with you. But I will, because with 24 years of Volunteer Fire Rescue, I have seen this happen too. In one case, at a town council meeting, after the fire chief confronted the town council about the BS, and they got into an argument with each other, he tossed his fire pager to the floor in front of them and told them to shove the job up their collective @$$. All thirty four volunteer firefighters had their pagers tossed to the front in less than thirty seconds, and the town was unprotected because of political bs amongst the town politicians
When I was on a volunteer dept the city paid their share of funding. The county always tried to weasel out. One year the fire chief a city commissioner told the county commissioners pay up or we will take the truck to the city limits and wait for the fire to come to us. It was an island so we wouldn't endanger anyone else 2.5 miles to the mainland on one side and hundreds of miles to Florida on the other.
@@nancyjanzen5676 NICE
This is something we as a NATION need to get under control. These politicians are supposed to serve us, not the other way around!
@@robertducat-qp7qy i think being volunteer gives people more guts, but when people are paid and that job is the security for the family, people tend to put their heads down and just deal with it more.
At the same time when it is volunteers giving a valuable service and then walk away, it gives them leverage over the powers that be, BUT when it is just ordinary people like parents going to school board meetings, the powers that be see no value in the parents and treat them with disdain by calling cops on them or having restraining orders set against them.
Who wins depends on where one is on the balance of power.
The difference between having enough fire fighters is putting a house fire out or controlling the burn till the house is gone.
Well said! Perfect illustration.
I lived in rural Tennessee, and yeah. A single crew covering a quarter of the county isn't near enough. Doesn't help that it can take up to 45 minutes to respond to a call. And that's in summer, not winter.
@@milesmayhem5440 ಠ_ಠ
While it is nice that the you tube algorithm is letting this make the rounds, it is 3 years old. An update would be nice.
2020 update says billy hayes resigned in april but that's all
There is enough info in the video. Now do the research.
@@SarahDigsHockey it's really not important enough to me to bother to "research". I am just going to assume the town survived.
@@wmason1961 Me too. far too many other videos to watch on youtube to research this.
Plain and simple I live around this area and been here for over 10 years plus. Things have gone down hill for years around here. Fire, police can't do their jobs and the government officials are corrupt. That's why I moved away so I don't have to put my tax dollars into a mess that won't get fixed.
So what was the resolution? I love these new stories that present these issues, but then never report the resolutions.
Yup. Never an update.
An interim chief was installed and he resigned last year after less than 2 years on the job.
@@loganrollo
Small town politics. First, the firing of the firefighter needs to be PROVEN to be justified or it IS harassment. May have to get the police/courts involved. Too many times - especially in cities and police departments and even schoolboards - illegal activity is treated as a "personnel problem" and then just swept under the rug, hidden from the public, and continued instead of being properly handled in a court of law. / Sounds like the new chief had problems with his higher-ups, too! But then, people resign for many different reasons.
I know this video has been posted for quite a while but it goes back to what I’ve said more than once; sometimes the only cure is resignation.
Sometimes we have to cut our losses and move on no matter how painful they are. It’s a shame I’m facing that now because of a family squabble.
What’s the difference between a small town politician and a big city one?
One wears Carhartt and the other wears a suit.
🎯
I never knew I needed small town meeting drama in my life.. but after 1 video I'm now down the rabbit hole of youtube recommendations lol
Springfield Maine volunteer firedepartment is in solidarity with your cause! You have the power to do what is right!
This type of problem is not just in fire departments. Somewhere something broke in many critical jobs. Somehow it became vogue to believe that "management" did not need to actually know the job because everyone was a "specialist". we need to return to the basic premise that you are not eligible to be on the board or commission of a fore department, police department etc. unless you have been one.
Volunteer Firefighter are the lunatics of the Fire Service. There’s only two things I know of that keeps Vollies from fighting fire, Broken Equipment and or bad Leadership. Obviously they supported the Chief.
🖕
What's the status today? Are things back to normal? Are calls being responded to? Is the service being provided to the community?
This is how "We the People" get it done. Learn it! Live it!
Not sure what going on but as a firefighter that was on volunteer department you would be amazed at the back Stabbings That goes on. But the one thing it shows who in it for the right reason and who in for themselves
Why do I see a parallel with this video and what our country should be doing with its corrupt leadership?
Why aren't the commissioners being transparent? What is happening? The commissioners are elected officials and they owe the voters an explaination. Don't allow them to not give a full rational for their actions.
My uncle is a fire chief at a volunteer based station in vermont. Alot of the towns are volunteer based up there. And when he appealed to the state that law enforment and first responders need better forms of communication and they all basically said that in doing so theyd cause eye soars by putting up towers in the mountains. So peoples lives are not as important as your politcians view...
How are the two corrupt people still in power?
When your fire service resign on mass this needs an answer!
Any update ?
It's always about suppliers and kickbacks when it comes to comissioners ans elected officials.
Hi I'm fr. Canada & I was also a Vollunteer Firefighter at one Time & I'm also Standing up for my fellow Brothers & Sisters & agree with Thier Decision to do They need to do to get Selfish, Greedy & The Corupted People OUT for Good 🇨🇦👊🇨🇦👍🇨🇦👍🇨🇦👍🇨🇦✌🇨🇦👏🇨🇦👊🇨🇦.
Is that including Ford & Trudeau ?
When you get paid you get paid but if volunteers leave that's a big problem
You know that the mayor is full of it.
* When asked for a reason, he is vague statement about resigning and "He wouldn't do what we told him to do."
* When later pressured, he changed to some even vaguer comment about harassment. Which is it?
* He's yelling at people because they ran against him rather than keep the discussion about the ex-fire chief.
Sorry, but if you want to fire someone, you need a clear reason and you have to document it. If this was legitimate, you'd expect him to say, "We had an issue. We gave him several verbal warnings. On W date we sent an email outlining the issue and met with him. On X date, we had another meeting and gave him a warning letter to be kept on file. On Y date, we gave him a second letter and met to see if there were any personal reasons he couldn't comply. On Z date, we regrettably had voted to remove him from his position. As this is a personnel matter we can't discuss it or release the letters unless Mr. A agrees in writing."
This is common sense and anyone in a mayor position (no matter how small the town) knows this -- as should at least one council member, any legal representation, anyone dealing with HR/payroll, etc.
This is what happens when you give the fire company more power than the fire department.
Our fire company board of directors know their only job is to raise money and if they over step we will take that from them and they can leave seeing as the actual fire department goes about getting everything we need ourselves or with the help of the town while the money raised by the company is only actually used for ceremonies and end of year christmas parties for members and family.
John. John, John. Do you not see the need for a chain of command in that sort of business? They hire the chief, they fire the chief, that's how it works. Just because they are volunteers does not mean this chain goes away. Cheers Kelly
It’s the age old problem, those “in charge” leading from the rear with no idea what’s happening on the front line! I used to teach, as an unpaid volunteer, at a unit for children who had been excluded from mainstream education. We had great success and most students went on to further education at a local technical school. Those in charge of the purse strings, withdrew funding, preferring to support colour therapy and a gay Internet cafe rather than give disadvantaged youngsters a decent start and some chance to improve themselves, the cafe lasted six months!
Jesus christ.
@@milesmayhem5440. The whole point was it wasn’t justifiable no matter what project the funds were diverted to, but it was another box ticked, regardless of the damage done!
@@milesmayhem5440. You’re talking today, I’m talking 10 years ago!
@@mergrew0110
Miles's post has been removed by someone or hidden from public view by the powers that be. 😮
Simple, get rid of the bone heads in office and let those that do the job run things.
I love the way you try to make your community come together to solve your problems i truly wish that would happen for us in the UK 🇬🇧
Yeah this is how a lot of small towns are in America. Lets just say small town living is better in almost every way to big city living. Obviously you dont have the restaurants and as much recreational actiivities to do, but in turn you get areas that a lot more tight knit, a lot safer, and you can actually have a say in your politicians.
Here is an idea don't pay your city council pay your firefighters. The city council is worthless and the firefighters might actually help you one day.
The only thing I see here is the egos in the room mean more than the citizens of the community. Good job way to set the example and stick to your departments creed of self before service.
Let’s get some of the Deadliest Catch captains in there to figure this out
If the chief was ELECTED, how could the council FIRE him?
When a town full of people who just want to be alone have to come together
Curious what was the finally outcome of this? Did the dept come back? City people who have no clue removed?
Typical govt response...deflect, deflect, deflect...
My municipality did the same thing to our chief too! Same BS no explanation spending taxpayers dollars on frivolous things and not focussing on the priorities !
Love it when people take back THEIR government!
United we stand , together we fall !
The people are the ones who are going to pay for this in the long run
These commissioners surely trained for the position on HOA boards.
And that people is how it's done.
Florida is offering bonuses to experienced firefighter and police officers.
No snow, no ice, no state income tax.
You know where we are. See you soon.
Is this problem resolved ???
Wow! What a Gal! :-)
I mean, she was waiting to see which way the wind was blowing before making her call. She showed up in uniform, still working. She waited until she was sure the crowd was behind her before she read her prepared statement then made a big show about quitting. If she was going to quit, she could have done so before the meeting and drove her knife in from the start. As I said, she was waiting to see which way it went before making her call because she wasn't going to stick her neck out. The last bit about doing what's right and not what's easy falls a little flat coming from her.
@@technicholy1299 You should work as a psychic.
Her statement could open up a lawsuit against her. Police and fire agencies are not allowed to go on strike. That’s under law. They would have to resign.
They are volunteer fire fighters, and can withdraw their services when ever they choose and she did resign.
This is why I stay home and watch judge judy
Nothing worse than clueless people about a job trying to manage those who do that job, a recipe for disaster
People file charges against the board
People have power....
Good job y'all. Stand up for what's right. All politicians are corrupt and need to be held accountable for their actions and decisions. That starts with your own local reps.
Do the fire commissioners call DHS on those that question their corruption like the school boards do?
This is happening more and more everywhere. Just a epidemic of a bigger issue that won’t be solved. It’s only gonna get worse. Most good men don’t want to help anymore.
So many stories about small town decline. Small towns is there things should be more right than wrong.
Have respect for VFD’s, many of them show up when no one else will.
“He was not following our directions” what you mean is you couldn’t control him anymore, he wasn’t going to be used as some pawn. So in return you got rid of him, don’t like someone questioning your power.
Funny how even the "news channel" protects the commissioners, by not actually reporting what was the primary compliant all those who quit had. Editing the footage to cut away at key moments and not even showing anyone addressing the actual complaints.
That woman has a lot of balls
A whole department that are volunteers. I would be doing everything I could to make their lives the best it could be. You have no idea how lucky you are/were to have selfless people doing jobs for nothing. Unbelievable.
Wow!
Wow...wouldn't want to be that guy.
All too often, this is the case. The commisioners don't have a clue what the fire departments do along with the police departments. Politics needs to stay out of it. All too often the power goes to their heads.
The best thing that could happen to Seattle is a good cleansing fire. Something Biblical.
Need the full story. Why was the Chief fired? What's the Chief's side? 1/3 resigned including the Assistant supporting the Chief. The other 2/3s did not which could mean they do or don't know the full story and since it's a volunteer they don't have to resign.
hold on , ive always wondered, how do volunteer fire fighters stay financially okay? where do they get their money from ?
The volunteers usually have a paying job and their equipment is provided by the municipality, fundraising and donations.
what the hell were they trying to tell the chief to do that he would quit to ignore certain fires? to lets arsonist go? to fire people based upon political beliefs? what did they do they still refused to answer
So what happened to this
Did they do the right thing and bring the people back
The people who left prior to the meeting took jobs elsewhere.
To The Onalaska Fire Dept I am the host of The Mid West Plainsman Podcast in Iowa, I am a former EMT and current First Responder and I am going to be doing a series of broadcasts on issues with both volunteer and paid departments with city council members or commissioners. Please reach out to me
At first I was with the chief and now im with the Mayor.
If the Chief is covering up for Harassment and god know what ever else ethics violations, he has to go.
This is why REPORTS and civil actions must be public record so the PEOPLE can be properly informed on who serves them.
If I was Mayor and I tried to fire a guy who was obviously caught covering up misconduct but was met with a public who chose the side of their friends instead of facts then there is no point of having a Mayor.
Luckily for me I got all their radio equipment since they disbanded and sold everything off
People will soon understand they are not irreplaceable.
How is this possible that city council intervenes into internal issues of Fire Department? Isnt the commendant choosen by the highuos of FD or something? Captain explain to non American
This is how citizens need to deal with DC politicians!
Bet ya they bagged the money that otherwise would have gone to the fire departmenet firefighters, assuming any did to begin with.
First Responders that quit en mass don't deserve to wear the badge. Your oath is to serve the community, not the individual.
VOLUNTEER!!!!!! Means no pay….. Onalaska is a beautiful community and deserves the best!
That was five years ago… what happened?
Remember, they are vonlunteers. They quit means you guys as mayor and associates should follow suit 😊
Anyone know if these commissioners are Dems or Reps?
In the part of Washington state they are in, I'm going to say they lean heavily republican.
I am willing to bet my Biden bonus check they are republicans.
Bet they are DemoRATS
Lewis County leans conservative.