PUTNEY, Vt. (WCAX) – Fire and EMS services in Putney are in limbo after the abrupt resignation of over a dozen volunteer firefighters due to ongoing tensions between the department and town officials reached a boiling point.
The doors on the Putney fire house will remain closed for the time being after town officials last week decided to suspend the department’s day-to-day operations.
It’s news that has some residents feeling a bit nervous. “I try to live pretty carefully and safely myself, so, cross my fingers,” said local resident Stephen Voorhees.
The move came after the chief and 12 volunteer firefighters resigned without notice. Town officials have reached out to neighboring communities to make sure fire and EMS services in the area are covered.
“The reason why we suspended operations was to actually make sure that we had adequate response times,” explained Putney Selectboard Chair Aileen Chute.
Details of what exactly sparked the mass resignation are unclear, but in an open letter to the town last week, the firefighters said “Serving the community requires the trust and support of town government, and unfortunately the last few years saw an erosion of that trust.” The letter went on to say that town officials created “…an atmosphere that further undermined the members’ ability to fulfill their core responsibilities to provide emergency services for the town.”
Chute declined to talk about specifics, citing personnel issues, but she says a recent outside audit of the department gives some insight into the structure problems within the fire station, specifically the chief’s role. “They said that he was wearing too many hats so the job of emergency management, health officers, 911 coordinator — those types of jobs — they recommended be diversified among staff,” she said.
Residents hope the emergency situation is resolved sooner, rather than later. “I’m just sad about how a town which gets along so well and there was this issue, and I don’t understand enough about it,” Voorhees said.
Town officials are working to create a strategic planning committee not only to bring the department back online, but also to make needed changes to help ensure its long-term viability.