Etna Fire Dept. – cont'd.

THIS PAST WEDNESDAY WE FIRST BROUGHT YOUR ATTENTION to the town of Etna, Maine.  (HERE)  They literally shut down the entire fire department because of a snit between the Board of Selectmen and the Fire Chief.  The publicly-given excuse  for this is because of the chief making a “response video” while he was going to an EMS emergency and posting it on YouTube (along with a couple of hundred similar videos posted by FD’s all over the country).  They are saying that the chief was “insubordinate” by posting the video without their express permission.  It should be noted that he was using his own private car and his personal video camera when he made this.

Firegeezer was able to talk with both Fire Chief Rick Goodell and EMS Chief Sean Harrington on Saturday to learn more about the Department and just what is going on there.

The members of the fire department are completely in the dark as to what triggered this extreme measure of cutting off the town’s primary fire protection.  It appears that there have been a stream of continuous conflicts between the Selectmen and the FD going back through several chiefs over 15 years.  But everybody is puzzled about why they chose now to do this.

Before anybody in the town was even aware that this was going to happen, the Board prepared for it by contracting with two neighboring communities to provide fire protection for Etna.  They were already assisting under a formal mutual aid agreement, but the moment the FD was shut down, the mutual aid pacts were nullified.  Therefore, the town will now be paying a fee to each and every fire department that responds to any calls in the Town of Etna.  These funds being spent for this coverage were never budgeted and are being spent without the taxpayers’ approval.

Not only was the firefighting activity shut down, but the Town effectively dismantled the organization by ordering all the members to “immediately” turn in all of their equipment and running gear to the sheriff.

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After the proverbial stuff hit the fan, the townsfolk became incensed, demanding to know just why their fire department was closed without their knowledge and approval.  The Board immediately backtracked a bit and said that it was closed only for two weeks.  Why?  Still no answer to that.  Then they said that they would hold a Town meeting tomorrow – Oct. 22 – at 6 pm to discuss the action.  But nobody would be allowed to go to it because it would be a closed meeting.

Not so fast…..the law does not permit an executive session without first holding a public meeting to approve it.  And still no explanation about why this extreme action was taken when their problem was only with the fire chief himself.  It needs to be noted that absolutely no illegal activity ever took place.

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Before he took the videos, Chief Goodell checked with both the Town’s attorney and the legal staff at the Maine Municipal League offices and he was assured that there were no legal nor liability problems by taking them.

The town meeting promises to be well-attended.  We’ll keep you informed of what goes on.  Check back here later when Firegeezer gives you a report on the structure of the FD and a review of the apparatus.