10 volunteer firefighters resign amid feud

A long-simmering feud between career and volunteer firefighters has ended with the resignation of 10 volunteer members of Salisbury's Station 1 who sought independence from the city’s fire department. 

Officers of Company 1, the all-volunteer group at Station 1, announced Wednesday night that they planned to separate from the fire department effective July 1 because the city had refused to participate in mediation.

Members of Company 1 did not want to answer to paid staff at the fire department and sought to operate without answering to a boss, Mayor Jake Day said during a Thursday afternoon press conference.

Under the city charter, such a move would be illegal, he said, and as a result, the volunteers asked to no longer be recognized as a group by the city.

In a news release emailed to the Daily Times, Company 1 President David Elliott Sr. and Vice President Charles Foskey announced plans to move from the current base at the Beaglin Park Drive fire station by July 1 and to establish a separate base of operation “out from under the umbrella of SFD.”

When asked for more information, Company 1 officials said they had no further comment. “The letter addressed to the city of Salisbury has not been addressed from the standpoint of the city and as such, no additional information is available at this time,” they wrote in an email.

The 30 volunteers in Station 1 were then given the option to transfer to another volunteer company within the Salisbury Fire Department, but still work out of Station 1, Day said. 

Seven firefighters had agreed to transfer as of Thursday afternoon, and 10 had expressed a desire to leave. The city was still waiting to hear from 12 more volunteers to whom the offer had been made, he said.

Meanwhile, the firefighters’ exit won't affect response by the department, the mayor added.

"It's not a crisis," Day said. "I think we will be stronger for it."

Day said he and Wicomico County leaders were “in no mood to consider another fire station.” And a recent fire service study funded jointly by the city and county recommended that no new volunteer companies be added due to problems recruiting and retaining volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Negotiation breakdown separates city fire companies

County Executive Bob Culver wrote in an emailed statement that he supports all volunteer firefighters and that the decision by Company 1 members “was a personal choice of theirs.”

“The decision to establish another station for the volunteers will be made by the Fire Chief’s Association,” he said.

The study also showed the Salisbury Fire Department’s costs of providing fire and ambulance services outside city limits are “significant” and not adequately reimbursed by Wicomico County.

The study showed a gap of roughly $1.1 million between what the county pays now and the actual cost of services.

City and county officials have held regular meetings since the report was released, and Day said he expects an announcement soon on how the funding discrepancies will be resolved.

RECENTLY:  Wicomico seeks deep dig before signing city fire pact

BACKGROUND:  Salisbury fire service study shows $1.1M funding gap

BACKGROUND:  Culver outlines questions of Fire/EMS agreement

Culver said he, too, is “positive that we will come to a fair and equitable solution for all parties.”

Day said Station 1 members had been under pressure because they had a response rate below 50 percent, which required personnel from other stations to cover Station 1’s calls for service.

Earlier this week, City Council members agreed to add four new paid firefighters to the department to help with coverage, a move which may have prompted the decision by Station 1 members to separate from the fire department, Day said.

“I suspect that’s why we got the letter,” he said.

On Twitter @LizHolland5