Oklahoma Volunteer Firefighters Fired Amid Feud

[Geppetto 31]

KOCO.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Volunteers with the Cashion Fire Department learned they were fired Monday night.

Last month, the city council fired Chantz Robinson, the fire chief, and told 15 volunteers to turn their in their gear.

Council members said they don’t want to pay the chief, saying that most towns their size have volunteer chiefs only.

The decision was made late Monday night to eliminate all the volunteer positions....

...The board hired eight new firefighters and a chief and told residents that Cashion is covered....

http://www.koco.com/mostpopular/28594615/detail.html

[Ga-Lin 86]

KOCO.com

http://www.koco.com/mostpopular/28594615/detail.html

Let me understand this (I don't think its possible but lets try) 15 non paid volunteer FF's are bagged & 8 are hired at a rate of pay. The chief is fired & told the council feels a paid chief is not needed... a new Chief is hired... sounds like the night of the long knives to me.

[gamewell45 258]

KOCO.com

http://www.koco.com/...615/detail.html

I think the news media at KOCO needs to understand the difference between paid and volunteer. If I understand the news clip, the volunteers were "excised" from the department and the sole paid member, the chief was terminated from his position. The 15 volunteers that were "excised" from the department were invited to re-apply for membership as volunteers. The newly "hired" 8 firefighters are likewise volunteers; its possible that some of the 15 "excised" volunteers might be re-appointed as volunteers within the department. I know it sounds confusing and even the citizens of the community are confused about this as well; maybe this is the way things are done in that part of Oklahoma.

What comes to mind is; is the new chief truly a "volunteer" or did they have a last minute change of heart and decide to pay him/her a salary. And what are his/her credentials if any? Do the 8 newly "hired" firefighters have any training whatsoever to perform their duties at fire scenes??

If I were the citizens of Cashion, I'd demand answers from the town council.