By FireRescue1 Staff
SEMMES, Ala. — After volunteer firefighters were locked out of their fire stations last week, the mayor has called the unexpected shut downs a “bad move.”
Semmes Mayor Judy Hale said although she “begged” the city council to come up with a transition plan while creating a city-affiliated department, her recommendations went ignored.
“I am also not happy about what happened,” Mayor Hale told FOX10. “It should not have happened. When you’re going to do something this major, like start a new fire department … it’s not something that you flip a switch and do overnight.”
Last week, the city council decided to create an official municipal fire department. As a result, an agreement between the volunteer fire department and the city was broken. Prior to the council’s decision, two departments shared equipment and often worked together. Two of the four volunteer fire stations have been locked, prompting firefighters to work out of the two remaining stations.
The council approved $800,000 worth of equipment, including a new truck, for the new department. Mayor Hale said some of the equipment at the volunteer stations have been reacquired by the city.
The closing of the stations and lack of transparency has left many firefighters disgruntled, some of which have begun a petition to get the confiscated equipment back.
“A firefighter takes an oath to preserve life and property, and they’re gonna do that to the ends of the earth,” former firefighter David Vigor said. “But now you just took away the tools for them to do that … you put the citizen’s lives in jeopardy.”