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Nov. 16--Heather Macy, medical lieutenant with the Jonesville Fire Department, turned in her gear along with her resignation from the department yesterday.
Macy, a member of the JFD for nearly nine years, cited lack of communication between the town board and the fire department as a main reason for her resignation. Macy's husband Keith resigned from his position of chief of the department on Aug. 8, also citing lack of communication as a large contributing factor for his resignation.
The last straw for Heather Macy, though, was that two previous assistant chiefs were asked by the town officials to return to the department, she said.
"The thing that finally did it for me was that two assistant chiefs from the past were asked to come back and be put in their positions with no discussion and no questions asked," she said.
"From working with them previously, I know I cannot work with them," she continued. "In the past, they couldn't assume their responsibilities. They didn't get their training hours or run calls.
"My opinion, or anyone else's opinion (with the fire department), was not asked," Macy said. "I don't expect to be included in the decisions, but I wasn't even given the opportunity to voice my opinion."
She said, had she been given the opportunity, she would have informed the town board the two assistant chiefs had not assumed their responsibilities during their previous tenure with the department.
"I really don't know what those concerns were (with those chiefs)," said Mayor Lindbergh Swaim, who is currently serving as interim chief of the department. "I wasn't informed of it. I don't know about all of that."
"Lack of communication and knowingly bringing in unqualified people is putting us in a dangerous position," Macy said. "I know it's not going to turn out good. I'm getting out before something does happen."
Swaim said he had no comments on Macy's resignation.
Macy ran nearly 68 percent of the calls to the department last month, she said. The department had 34 calls during the month of October, and Macy ran 23 of those calls. The majority of those calls were medical calls, she said.
"At least six calls I ran last month, no one else ran," said Macy. She noted Keith Macy ran 50 percent of October's calls, or 17 of the 34 calls. A third member of the department ran 16 calls, or 47 percent of the calls.
"There are people in the community that needs the department to do what it said it was going to do, whether it be handling fire calls or medical calls," she said.
With Macy no longer a volunteer, the department now has only 13 members and two junior firefighters and does not meet requirements to be certified with a 9-S rating for insurance grading purposes. Last month, the fire department had a surprise 9-S inspection.
Under the personnel section of the state 9-S rating requirements, a fire department must have a minimum of 20 personnel with 18 designated as firefighters and two as traffic personnel, or the department must show documentation that an average of 12 firefighters responded to each of the previous 20 structure fires.
Lack of personnel at the department has led several board members to consider merging the department with the Arlington Fire Department in order to meet state regulation.
Macy said she was unaware of where the town is in this process or if an official decision has been made.
"It's still on the table," said Swaim. "It's not really a merger. It would just be the Arlington Fire Department. I think our problem is we don't have enough personnel. The people we have need to be trained, and I don't know that the state is going to give us enough time to do that."
Swaim noted the town will likely be looking for other solutions, including the Jonesville Fire Department joining the Arlington Fire Department.
"The town board is still not communicating with the department," Macy said. "I think we should sit down as a department and talk about this kind of thing, and that's not been happening. We've not discussed anything as a department, including the future of the department."
Macy said the last department meeting was held prior to Keith Macy's resignation as chief. Mayor Lindbergh Swaim, who served as fire chief for 44 years, was appointed as interim chief on Aug. 26.
This resulted in a heated discussion at the Sept. 10 regular town meeting, when Macy expressed her frustrations with the town's lack of communication regarding the decision to appoint Swaim as interim chief.
"It's so disheartening to me," she said during the meeting. "We're out there putting our lives on the line, and the town officials don't have the respect to keep the members aware of what is going on with their own department. Don't keep us in the dark when we're putting our lives on the line for you."
"It was never our intention to keep the fire department in the dark," Scott Buffkin, town manager, said at the same meeting.
The department's assistant chief resigned at the same time Keith Macy resigned as chief, according to Heather Macy.
"The assistant chief took the position to help Keith, but he also saw the way things worked for Keith, or I should say didn't work, so he didn't want that responsibility either," Macy said.
Macy previously worked with the Boonville Fire Department before becoming a volunteer with the Jonesville Fire Department. Macy won "Rookie of the Year," "Most Active," and "First Responder of the Year" multiple times during her time with the Boonville and Jonesville fire departments.
She is currently a member of the Arlington Fire Department, a role she will continue in despite her resignation from the Jonesville Fire Department.
At the September meeting, Macy said, "As long as the town will permit Keith and I, we're going to keep running calls. We just want the community to know we're not going to abandon them.
"The safety of the community is our main concern, whether we are kept involved in whatever decisions (the town) makes or not," she said.
"I always said I wouldn't leave the fire department and abandon the town," she said yesterday, "but I feel like I'm being forced out. It's better for me to move on because I don't feel like my services are wanted any longer."
