SELLERSBURG — For the first time in 30 years, the Tri-Township Fire Protection District may not re-enter a contract with the Sellersburg Volunteer Fire Department.
At a recent meeting, the district board voted to explore options outside of renegotiating the regular contract after a fact-finding committee spent six weeks looking into what they say are concerns with the department. The board voted that night to look into assuming responsibility of its own department; findings will be presented at the March 19 public meeting and a vote possible that night.
Contract opened
The district, which covers approximately 65 square miles comprised of Carr, Silver Creek and Union townships, was established in 1987 and has contracted with the Sellersburg department since 1988. The current contract, which took effect at the start of 2016, is set to expire Dec. 31.
At the board's January meeting, it was reopened and a committee of board chair Dale Cooke and member and fiscal officer Ray Dreyer agreed to gather information regarding a potential contract renegotiation and report back at the following meeting.
Among the fire protection district's concerns were issues with safety, run times and actions taken at runs, a lack of accountability to the public by the privately run department and the longstanding poor relationship between the two entities.
"Poor communication inhibits open discussion, collaboration and effective planning," read one of the slides presented by district board attorney Keith Pulliam at the February meeting. It continued that the relationship "at times is almost adversarial..." and that the "public does not understand the difference between the District and the [Sellersburg Volunteer Fire Department]."
How it operates
The Tri-Township Fire Protection District collects revenue from township taxpayers through a tax levy, much of which is then distributed to the department, under contract to provide fire protection and similar services. The four Sellersburg fire stations are owned by the district and leased to the department for $1 a year, with most of the fire equipment owned by the department and purchased with public funds.
But the volunteer fire department, as a private entity, doesn't have to answer to the district in regard to personnel matters or department policies; those are handled by an internally-elected board of directors in the department.
Neither does the department face oversight by the Sellersburg Town Council or the Clark County Commissioners, the latter of which appoints the five-member district board. The Clark County Council approves the fire department's budget each year, but doesn't have the authority to approve or disapprove on a line-by-line basis.
Cooke said after the meeting that while the lack of transparency and non-cooperation has been a big, ongoing issue, the safety concerns take precedence.
"More importantly, it's the safety of the firefighters and the service that's being provided to our community," Cooke said. "That's the end of the story."
Board findings and concerns
As part of their information gathering, the district committee requested from the fire department a copy of the 2019 budget; reports on all 2018 runs including breakdowns in types, response times, times of day and responding teams; inventory of fire apparatus and equipment; and personnel information including pay, hours worked, training and certifications held.
The department declined or were unable to provide information to the district on its fire equipment inventory, long-term capital planning for equipment, locations of runs and a list of certifications held by employees. The department cited privacy concerns for not providing information on employee salaries and benefits.
Data gathered indicated that in 2018, the department made a total of 749 runs, the most common being accidents with injuries at around 42 percent. However, as of the February meeting, only two of the regular paid staff had Emergency Medical Responder certification, the district committee reported.
Reports also showed that the bulk of paid full-time staff worked during hours that did not always coincide with the busiest as far as run times.
The board also listed in the presentation several instances of fire runs which they found concerning. In one case last March, when firefighters responded to a car fire at a gas station in Sellersburg, it took 10 to 14 minutes for two fire trucks to arrive on scene. Meanwhile, a firefighter who had arrived within four minutes in a command car began suppressing the fire with an extinguisher and no protective fire gear.
The district board said this was out of line with a previous request from that January that all cars carry full turnout gear and use it when responding to all fire runs.
Sellersburg Fire Chief Boyce Adams was prohibited from addressing the district board's findings during the meeting — there was no public comment — but he said afterward he'd taken issue with some of the information presented.
"I felt that was unprofessional to address some things that were substantially incorrect," he said, although he declined to cite examples. "Some of them were probably a thing of perception, some of them just flat wrong."
He said fire extinguisher training teaches that for a fire in its first stages, it's appropriate to use an extinguisher to try to knock it out before it grows. However, he did not say whether or not someone in that department would be reprimanded for not wearing fire gear in such a situation.
He said as far as rendering first aid, all staff are trained in the basics and that the department recently raised money through CPR classes to the public to purchase training materials to become certified as Emergency Medical Responders, which he said he intended to start soon.
"I've got a great a group of firefighters," he said. "I'd put my department up against anybody in the county and they could do a fantastic job."
What's Next
At the close of the meeting, the two-member committee recommended that the board explore the feasibility of assuming responsibility of operating the "Tri-Township Fire Department" — this would require cooperation from the Sellersburg Volunteer Fire Department, which would lose its independence and control over much of the managerial and policy matters within.
Adams could not say how the department would react to a decision — it's up to the internal fire department board, he said.
"I have a board of directors that will ultimately have to decide and I'm not going to offer my personal opinion," he said. "It's too early for that."
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