April 19--ATHENS -- The two volunteer fire departments in Tool have been dueling for 11 years. The feud between the two departments started in 2003, when the citizens of Tool voted to establish Emergency Service District No. 4. According to reports, this was about the same time the Tool Volunteer Fire Department was established.
The city already supported the City of Tool Volunteer Fire Department. This is where the feuding started between the two departments. Both departments were fighting a territorial war.
The conflict between the fire departments boiled over this past week with all but one firefighter resigning from the City of Tool Volunteer Fire Department.
City Councilman and City of Tool Volunteer Fireman Rickey Williams said, "The mayor has made it impossible for the City of Tool Volunteer Firemen to do their job. Her agenda when she was elected was to dismantle the fire department."
Mayor Tamra Brickey, who sat on the Board of ESD No. 4 for six years, has denied efforts to dismantle the City of Tool Volunteer Fire Department.
"They resigned," she said. "We just accepted their resignations."
After some thought, Brickey decided the resignation had not yet been accepted. They would need to be voted on in open City Council session.
Brickey said, "The ESD controls the money received for the fire departments."
The City of Tool Volunteer Fire Department receives funding through the city budget. Brickey said the fire department receives $28,000 from the City of Tool. According to Brickey the ESD does not give the city volunteer fire department any funding. She said the Tool VFD receives $65,000 a year from the ESD. The district is supported by a 3-cent ad-valorem tax.
In an e-mail received by the Athens Review, City Secretary Makenzie Blaser said, "I think that it is imperative that everyone understand that the ESD No. 4 and the Tool Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. (The non-city department) are two completely-separate entities, although they work very closely together. The ESD No. 4 collects their portion of tax dollars, and has the choice to distribute those funds and any others to any fire department of their liking. They choose to support the Tool Volunteer Fire Department, Inc."
Williams said the City VFD has reached out to the mayor.
"We have invited her to attend our meeting, but she chooses not to come," Williams said. "The firefighters just couldn't take it any longer, the way they were being treated."
Blaser said, "There are temporary directives in place to ensure that all calls for emergency services do not go unanswered, and that everyone is still being provided for."
When asked whether the Tool VFD had working trucks, training and rescue gear, Blaser said, "I would caution anyone hearing this type of negativity, and encourage them to verify the validity of the information directly with the ESD. Rumors and gossip are spreading like wildfire."
This is not the first time the ESD No. 4 has come under fire. According to an Athens Review story in 2008, the Tool City Council, volunteer firefighters and local citizens gathered in a special meeting to decide whether to withdraw from the Henderson County Fire District.
The story states, "After some intense dialogue and a little finger-pointing, the council voted to give the fire district another chance."
For the time being, nothing has been settled between the two fire departments. The city council has scheduled a public hearing for May 1 at 6 p.m. to discuss the issue. The mayor urges the citizens of Tool to attend the public hearing.
"If the people of Tool want us to return to the fire department, we would be willing," said Williams.
With the city elections less than a month away, this could be a problem for the new city council. Three current council members' terms expire in May 2014. The city has seven citizens signed up to run for open council positions.
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