Vote Locks Out Maine Firefighters

DETROIT -- When Detroit Fire Department volunteers discovered Wednesday morning that they had all been fired, they faced the problem together, like a family.

That could be because many of them are family.

For much of the 25-year history of the Detroit Volunteer Fire Department, its leaders have been selected by the firefighters themselves. But the people of Detroit told their three selectmen through popular vote that they have had enough of this practice.

They passed a referendum that takes away the power to appoint a fire chief from the 21 firefighters and puts it upon Detroit's selectmen.

The vote results on the referendum highlighted intense differences in opinion between the townspeople and the firefighters over how the fire station should be run. It passed with an overwhelming majority, 113-31.

But the consensus was far different among the firefighters, who were as outspoken as their displaced chief in denouncing the selectmen's actions.

Although the referendum was a result of popular vote, the decision to fire him was made by "three idiot selectmen," said David Wright, who is not sure if he should still call himself chief, as he has not been formally fired

Locking up the fire station put all of Detroit in danger by barring first responders from their duties, he said, and firefighters were forced to stand by idly when two calls for help sounded over their radios.

"There was nothing we could do," he said. "They had the station locked up with all the fire trucks inside."

Wright said one call was for a wrecked tractor-trailer, and one was a grass fire. But Detroit Board of Selectmen Chairman Joseph Cianchette said both of those calls were answered by Pittsfield firefighters, an arrangement he'd set up that morning. Wright said Cianchette made no such arrangements. However, Mike Smith, deputy director of communications at Somerset County Sheriff's Office, said he was made fully aware of the situation around 8 a.m. Wednesday, about the same time Detroit firefighters realized they were locked out of the fire station. Cianchette said he called and explained that Pittsfield would cover the Detroit area.

The referendum effectively fired the entire department, including his wife, Laurie Wright, who serves as rescue chief, Wright said.

"They have a vendetta against us," he said. "They don't just have a problem with me. They have a problem with 21 firefighters."

Although the number of Wright family members in the department has been higher in the past, there were at least six, possibly seven, serving in top leadership spots as of yesterday, according to Cianchette. Cianchette and the other selectmen put out the referendum for a vote in response to countless complaints from the people of the town, he said. The selectmen have already chosen a chief to serve when the Detroit Volunteer Fire Department resumes operations. Cianchette would not identify the man, only saying his identity would be revealed around the beginning of August, when construction on the new fire station is completed.

As for morale of current firefighters serving under the new chief in August, the point could be moot, Cianchette said.

"There's nothing that says that they'll remain on the Fire Department," he said.

But Cianchette went on to say that the decision will be up to the new chief, and with the exception of two or three specific volunteers, they might all be welcome to stay.

"The main purpose of all of this is for the citizens of the town of Detroit. So many of them have asked us, so many have complained. They told us emphatically last night, they want a change. We're going to give them a change."