Wisconsin Fire Dept locked out by board member

[ameryfd]

I don't know anything else about this story, just found it. Anyone else hear about this and know more?

For the last twenty years.. the Tripoli Volunteer Fire Department has protected around 300 residents in both Tripoli and Lynn.
But.. as a result of a town board meeting last night.. the Department is now locked up.. and shut down.
Town Chairman Doug Marheine tells us it was his idea.
So much so.. that no other board members had a say in the decision.
Marheine says the reason is because there was no accountability from the fire department... but wouldn't elaborate on that.
The acting chief disagrees with the assessment... and is worried that the closest help is now 25 miles away.
"we can no longer offer these people that. they have to wait for the ambulance to come all the way from tomahawk before they can get any kind of help."
Both sides are taking legal action.
But until that's settled... an agreement is in place for Tomahawk fire to cover emergency calls.

[ThNozzleman]

I hope that Tomahawk can move some units into the area while this thing gets sorted out. Twenty-five miles is a long haul.

[MalahatTwo7]

OIY-VEY..... thats not good. Hope all gets squared away real soon.

[millerman]

The direction of this country is sickening.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it wasn't like this 20 years ago was it?

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

The ultimate irony would be for town chairman Doug Marheine to require the services of the fire department nad have to wait until Tomahawk made the 25 mile trip.

He is candidate for the "MOTY" award!















*Mutt Of The Year!

[Dalmatian190]

I don't know what to use at the title:

A) Ok, we used to joke about the rocket scientists who make these decisions...

or

B) The real question is...will fire protection be restored in time for the next rocket launch?

http://www.tripoliwisconsin.org/weblog.php



Other observations:
1) Seems like you're out on a limb locking the doors without the Board making a decision

2) We see this regularly, and usually the people who control the money win.

3) How much fracking accountability are we worried about in a community of 300?

[Dalmatian190]

And it all comes full circle...

Their safety officers need to follow NFPA 1127, the High Power Rocket Safety Code.

[jrengine70]

god help tripoli if they get a workin structure.......it would take them at least 45 minutes to get the nearest engine there (let alone a ladder truck)

[Dalmatian190]

Did a town of 300 have a ladder truck to begin with?

[jrengine70]

Did a town of 300 have a ladder truck to begin with?

probably not. shouldnt have brought that up. but still it would take a while to get an engine.

[nmfire]

This is why I like our setup where the FD is it's own private organization. The most the town could do is tell us we use the apparatus and equipment but the building and property and anything that isn't fire service related isn't owned by the town.

[ChiefDog]

I don't know anything else about this story, just found it. Anyone else hear about this and know more?

For the last twenty years.. the Tripoli Volunteer Fire Department has protected around 300 residents in both Tripoli and Lynn.
But.. as a result of a town board meeting last night.. the Department is now locked up.. and shut down.
Town Chairman Doug Marheine tells us it was his idea.
So much so.. that no other board members had a say in the decision.
Marheine says the reason is because there was no accountability from the fire department... but wouldn't elaborate on that.
The acting chief disagrees with the assessment... and is worried that the closest help is now 25 miles away.
"we can no longer offer these people that. they have to wait for the ambulance to come all the way from tomahawk before they can get any kind of help."
Both sides are taking legal action.
But until that's settled... an agreement is in place for Tomahawk fire to cover emergency calls.

Around here an individual board member does not have that kind of power. The majority of the board has to be in agreement and it is voted on at a meeting. I would think that this will get messy really quick!!!

But this is small town politics.....

[NYSmokey]

I would love to know more about this town chairman. Chances are that he had a run in with someone from the fire department that probably had nothing to do with fire protection. Some politicians will use their position to fulfill a personal vendetta while proclaiming that they are doing a great service to the community. He didn't need to shut the doors. Have they had any meetings about this before or did this come out of the blue?

You would think that the town attorney would have shot this idea down since it seems to me that the chairman has opened himself and the town up to a HUGE liability. If someone gets seriously injured or dies and it can be directly attributed to his decision, he/the town is SCREWED. He should have ensured proper coverage before closing their doors, IF that was his ONLY legitimate choice. I doubt that it was.

[chopper12]

There's much more to this story then we're told through that small article, I'm betting. Kinda hard to make any judgements about it without more information.

[ameryfd]

There's much more to this story then we're told through that small article, I'm betting. Kinda hard to make any judgements about it without more information.

Always a true statement. The Wisconsin EMS magazine also had a little blurb about it too, but there was no more information than the TV report posted.

Two thoughts:

#1) Wisconsin law states that a municipality MUST provide fire protection for it's citizens. However it does not specify where the protection must come from. Theoretically, a town could hire a fire department from Russia to cover thier territory and be compliant.

#2) Wisconsin law also dictates no real sole authority to a town chairman. Any town chair (for the most part) has no legal authority. The legal authority rests within the board as a whole, not in an individual.

That's why this sounds so wierd..... And I'm guessing that's why it's ended in court. I ran a search through the Wisconsin Circuit courts and haven't found anything yet, so I'm sure there's some behind the scenes stuff going on.

[hwoods]

There's much more to this story then we're told through that small article, I'm betting. Kinda hard to make any judgements about it without more information.

YUP!!, I'm with Chopper. Just one more reason to remove all controls over Fire/Rescue/EMS from local Government. Emergency Services are far too critical to be vulnerable to interference from local politicians.

[51E12GDS]

Did a town of 300 have a ladder truck to begin with?

It is doubtful, I'm on two departments. One protects 2000 people and only runs 2 engines, a tanker, a light rescue, a boat, a mobile cascade, and a brush truck.
The other protects 3000 people and only has 2 engines, 1 tanker, 1 brush/light rescue truck, and an ATV for off highway rescues.
However, there are plenty of ladders around us.
Northfield, MA has a ladder with 4000 residents.
Hinsdale, NH has a ladder with 5000 residents.
Brattleboro has a ladder with 14000 residents.
Putney has a ladder with 3000 residents.
Greenfield, MA has a ladder with 20000 residents.
Keene, NH has 2 ladders with 25000 residents.
Westminster has a ladder with 4000 residents.
IDK about a town of 300 though, the smallest town around us has 800 people. But one in NH about 20 miles away has 200 and they only have a brush truck, boat, and off road rescue. Their station is not even in their town! It is over the line in Keene!

[Weruj1]

CLEAR !!!!!!!!!! and totaly irrelevant to the thread !

[Binaroundawhile]

Think Chopper and H have it nailed. In a perfect world government would have no Authority over emergency services and cash would rain from the heavens. There is always more to the story (Paul Harvey knew it). Until "local yokels" put the people first, the song remains the same. The town in the headline is all that changes.