Fire Chief Thomas Oesterheld has been the head of the department for close to 50 years, but under the new rules he will need to complete close to 1,000 hours of training over two years to continue as its leader.
"I've had 48 years as chief, but suddenly my qualifications are zero," he told the newspaper.
Spotsylvania County's Fire and EMS Commission approved the new standards in October after the board of supervisors asked for new standards in response to a fatal fire that occurred early last year.
Sandy Hill died on Feb. 5, 2010 while on the phone with a dispatcher and reviews described the scene as chaotic.
Oesterheld said that after that fire, in which firefighters took 20 minutes to find Hill, the reputation of volunteer firefighters took a hit.
A study released in November by the Virginia Fire Services Board lauded the county for its efforts to increase training and warned that a lack of minimum standards "presents liability issues."
The county set a deadline of Jan. 1, 2013, for standards to be met, but Oesterheld claims that it would be impossible to complete that amount of training in just a few years. He also said that during his years with the department he's attended numerous training sessions, but doesn't have records for most of them.
Other members of the department have similar issues with the new training requirements.
"I and my colleagues have a strong objection to the fact that there has been no accommodations for length of service and experience," Mark Kuechler, president of the department, told the newspaper.
Kuechler -- who sits on the commission that approved the rules -- said he signed off on them with expectation that they would take into account cases such as Oesterheld's.
Without exception for experience, he said the new standards are "set up for failure."
The veteran chief asked to be exempt from the new requirements, but County Administrator Doug Barnes refused, said that waiving the requirements would send a negative message.
"We're going through a time of change, and change doesn't come easy," he told the newspaper. "There are some hurt feelings but I think we're on the right path."
