Feb. 17--The city of Beaver Dam has been working toward a new fire station and a paid department for years.
Soon, it will have both.
The Beaver Dam City Commission made history recently by unanimously approving Ohio County's first paid firefighter.
Chris Shephard, who is also a sergeant on the Beaver Dam Police Department, was selected from three candidates who interviewed for the job of fire chief.
Shephard will be paid $250 a month along with incentive pay that will include 10 percent of all billable emergency and fire runs he collects.
Shephard said his experience goes back to when he began as a junior volunteer firefighter in 1991.
"This is an opportunity to be part of a historic thing -- you know, being the first paid position in the fire service in Ohio County," said Shephard, who at one time held Beaver Dam's fire chief position.
However, Shephard hasn't been with the Beaver Dam Volunteer Fire Department in years, opting to make runs with the Hartford Volunteer Fire Department as one of its tanker truck drivers.
By hiring Shephard, that meant Tim Blair, who was Beaver Dam's fire chief, had to step aside. Prior to the city establishing the paid position, the firefighters elected their chief along with other officers.
Blair, who was one of the job's three candidates, said he was told the city "wanted to go in a different direction," calling the decision "a slap in the face."
"I had been with the department 16 years -- almost 17 years," said Blair, who has quit the fire department since the vote. "I'm not blaming Chris. He applied for the job, and he got the job. Kudos to him.
"But he walked out on them six years ago. So yeah, it left a bad taste in my mouth. It makes you wonder what hat he's supposed to be wearing when he's on (an accident) scene. Is he a police officer or is he a fire chief?"
Beaver Dam Mayor Paul Sandefur said the city was seeking someone who could fill an administrator's role and devote time to the paperwork side of the department.
"It was nothing against what Tim did in the past," Sandefur said. "Tim was a heck of a firefighter. But we needed this person to be more than a firefighter, and we felt like Chris' experience gave us that."
Beaver Dam becomes the first of Ohio County's 10 volunteer fire departments to employ a firefighter.
Although Sandefur said having a department with more paid firefighters is his goal, he "doesn't see it happening anytime soon."
In the meantime, construction of the city's new 5,400 square-foot fire station will begin once the weather breaks, Sandefur said.
The majority of the $640,000 cost is being funded by a $500,000 community development block grant.
Blair was also critical of the City Commission for not seeking more input from the firefighters on the station's design.
"The city wants to micromanage ... but the city doesn't know much about the fire department," Blair said. "I think they wanted a 'yes man,' and they hired them one."
Sandefur disputed Blair's claim, saying Beaver Dam's firefighters were included in the design process.
"Tim was involved every step of the way," Sandefur said. "We even had two designs that we let the firefighters choose from."
Shephard, who has already assumed the fire chief's role and will maintain his full-time job with the Beaver Dam police, said he was unaware of any differences between the firefighters and the city with the new fire station.
He added that accepting the position wasn't personal against Blair.
"I've known (Tim) before either one of us was on the fire department," Shephard said. "...I hate that he left. I still think a lot of him, and I'm not going to bad-mouth him. I hope that we can continue to talk on a friendly basis. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him, but this was a job opportunity. I applied, he applied and the city made their choice."
Copyright 2014 - Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
