TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- More than a dozen volunteer Woodall firefighters reportedly walked away from their duties Tuesday and Wednesday after one of the chiefs resigned, but the remaining chief says the community is still protected.
Fire Chief Jason Archer said several volunteers quit, but at least five firefighters were still with the department Wednesday and working to keep the Woodall community safe. Archer said Tahlequah and Fort Gibson fire departments are automatically responding to provide mutual aid to Woodall area emergency calls.
"[Woodall] does have fire protection," said Archer. "They can still call 911. The fire department is functioning fine."
Former Co-Chief Jason Fullen said he was the first to quit during a meeting Tuesday night, and the others who left -- approximately 16 firefighters, he claims -- did so Tuesday and Wednesday. A copy of Fullen's handwritten resignation letter, which he posted on his Facebook page, points to unsafe working conditions, untrained staff supervisors, unsafe equipment, and alleged illegal activity.
Fullen said Woodall VFD is plagued by "a lot of illegal stuff."
He claims the department lost its state licensing last month "because they were forging the training documents and the state runsheets."
"I refused to sign the state license because of it, and we lost our license," Fullen said.
Fullen does not have copies of the documents that were allegedly forged, he said.
The Woodall VFD has nine trucks, but four of them are inoperable, Fullen alleges. He claims the station is flooded daily due to one leaking truck.
He said the department has plenty of funding to have the vehicles fixed, but that those who make the decisions won't have them repaired.
"It's too much of a liability, and someone's going to end up dead," said Fullen. "This has nothing to do with burning a fire department. This is about protecting and serving the community."
Fullen also claims there are problems within the department over local political races and corresponding campaign material, and said some people in the department have their positions only because of who they are or who they know.
He said he talked to state officials Wednesday morning, and that they promised to visit the community and conduct an investigation.
Fullen said he didn't want to provide names of the state officials with whom he spoke.
Archer, who was originally appointed as co-chief along with Fullen, said he is working on the required paperwork to correct the state licensing issue.
Copyright 2012 - Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
