Fire association backs Salisbury volunteers in dispute

The Maryland State Firemen’s Association, whose members include over 300 volunteer fire, rescue and EMS companies throughout the state, is objecting to the recent lockout of Salisbury’s Station 1 volunteers by the city.

“We kindly ask the city of Salisbury to allow the volunteers to have what is rightfully theirs, specifically equipment which was paid for by Salisbury Station 1 with county and state funding,” the group wrote in an emailed statement.

The volunteers announced Feb. 22 that Company 1 had decided to separate from the Salisbury Fire Department effective July 1 after the city refused to participate in formal mediation to iron out disputes over station staffing.

In a second news release issued two days later, members said the city had locked them out of Station 1 and threatened them with criminal trespass charges.

Mayor Jake Day said seven members drove to Station 1 the night they announced their plans to separate and began removing equipment and loading it into their personal vehicles. City police officers arrived on the scene and told the firefighters to return the equipment to the building, he said. They city declined to press charges.

At the time, Day said the volunteer firefighters may return and collect their personal belongings and anything owned by the fire company, such as files.

“They’re still allowed to do that,” he said Friday. “All they have to do is call the chief and schedule it.”

Last week, a spokesman for the Station 1 volunteers said the company was in the process of finding a new building and equipment with plans to take over a part of Wicomico County outside city limits, which is now covered by the city’s Station 1 on Beaglin Park Drive.

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BACKGROUND: Firefighter walkout due to staffing dispute with city

The company is working toward finding a location for a new station and plans to acquire two fire engines, a tanker truck and two ambulances, said spokesman Cory Polidore. The company has set an annual budget of $567,000.

But Day said Friday there is still a chance for the city and the Station 1 volunteers to resolve their differences, but would not comment on what efforts might be underway.

Meanwhile, Day said Fire Chief Rick Hoppes called Michael A. Davis, president of the Firemen’s Association.

The decision by Station 1 volunteers to separate from the city fire department has come under fire by the Salisbury Career Firefighters Union Local 4246 which said it supports the decisions made by Day and Hoppes.

The department tried to make changes at all three city fire stations, all of which are staffed by both paid employees and volunteers, to improve response times, the union said in a news release.

“These operational changes occurred because of the above-mentioned failure rates of Station 1 volunteers,” union President Aaron Colegrove said it the news release. “These operational changes ultimately caused the secession from the city to take place. Had the calls for service been handled properly, then the above operational changes would not have had to take place.”

Friday, Colegrove expressed displeasure to the Maryland State Firemen's Association statement.

"Please know the facts before you post about it! The reason Station 1 is now staffed 24/7/365 with career personnel is because the volunteers were failing to respond on an average of 51 percent to 54 percent of the time," he wrote in an email Friday afternoon. "The taxpayers deserve a guaranteed service.  Example: What if you woke up every morning and went to take a shower, get ready, and start your day.  However, your water only worked 3 or 4 days a week?  You would want it fixed right?  The difference is we are talking about public safety and possibly life or death situations!"

On Twitter @LizHolland5

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