Bank goes after volunteer fire company

[Geppetto 31]

The Baltimore Sun

Peter Hermann, April 2, 2011

...The volunteer fire company established in 1938 is broke, and lenders filed a lawsuit last week seeking to seize everything, from the brick and mortar stationhouse and the adjacent hall, to the fire trucks, hose, nozzles and gloves.

If successful, Marquette Bank of Cook County, Ill. could own the McCoole Fire and Rescue Department of Allegany County.

The federal court action is the culmination of a long-simmering, small-town dispute over how the fire company is run and how it came to the brink of financial ruin, defaulting in September on quarterly $13,000 payments on a $624,000 loan....

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-md-volunteer-fire-suit-20110331,0,2958367.story

*** There's obviously more to this than what's in the newspaper article - read the commentaries.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Geppetto

[EMSer 15]

From the comments it sounds like there was some of mismanagement within the FD.

As someone who’s having a tough time paying off student loans, I sympathize with the dept, but unfortunately the banks want their money and the banks always get it. I would suggest requesting a forbearance or deferment, but it might be too late for that.

[helicopper 1,050]

The emergency services are a business not unlike any other. That they're supported by tax funds does not obviate the need to pay their debts and live within their means. It is sad that the FD allowed it to get this far but the bank didn't just show up on Monday after the payment was due on Friday.

[abaduck 123]

Hrrumph... not saying anything about the money or management sides of the story, but:

"They do fight fires, I have to give them credit for that. When they're called, they go. But they haven't done anything that benefits the community. Nothing. All they want to do is fight fires."

Isn't that enough? I call that concentrating on your core business.... if you want to 'benefit your community', go join the Elks...

Mike

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Hrrumph... not saying anything about the money or management sides of the story, but:

"They do fight fires, I have to give them credit for that. When they're called, they go. But they haven't done anything that benefits the community. Nothing. All they want to do is fight fires."

Isn't that enough? I call that concentrating on your core business.... if you want to 'benefit your community', go join the Elks...

Mike

To answer it simply..no its not enough...how many fires are they truly going to? And the core business of the fire service is FIRE PREVENTION...not Fire Suppression. The Elks are going to deliver the same community "benefits" that the fire and ems services should. Fire safety, fire prevention, injury prevention..and I could go on and on.

[abaduck 123]

To answer it simply..no its not enough...how many fires are they truly going to? And the core business of the fire service is FIRE PREVENTION...not Fire Suppression. The Elks are going to deliver the same community "benefits" that the fire and ems services should. Fire safety, fire prevention, injury prevention..and I could go on and on.

Sorry Tom, you're right of course and I could have phrased it better: - I read it as the guy complaining because they weren't running enough bingo nights, cooking enough chili, cleaning enough ditches, or whatever other non-fire activity he considered 'helping the community' - that's the point I was trying to make. NOT that they should only be interested in responding to working fires!

Mike

[Boss159 7]

What I didn't read is, are they District run or membership owned house? either way shouldn't they be getting tax or contract money from the village, town, county, state? If so where the respective auditors? Is the Chief the end all be all of the company, is there board of directors, commissioners, membership? There are grants and fundraisers, I am a fourth generation member of a small FD and to the best of my knowledge they never had to get a bank loan for equipment, it was always covered by fundraisers, grants, tax or contract monies. Maybe we have been just lucky, or better money management.... lots of questions, not enough answers in that article... or maybe i missed it.