All DE Vol. Fire Co's to be Audited by State for Fraud

Delaware officials have formed a task force to investigate all 60 volunteer fire companies in the state after rampant cases of financial mismanagement, fraud and embezzlement have been reported.

According to the online edition of The News Journal, delawareonline.com, hundreds of thousands of dollars have disappeared from fire company accounts in recent years. The missing funds came to light when the affected companies reported the discrepancies to the state. The newspaper reported that almost all the cases involved treasurers or high ranking officials with the departments.

Delaware’s state Auditor Thomas Wagner told the newspaper that the problem almost always boiled down to internal controls within the fire department. “The bottom line was always the same: individuals generally in control of finances were the ones that took the money."

The task force was created by state legislation and was charged with performing “a comprehensive review of the existing financial accounting and management procedures of the various Delaware volunteer fire companies and their respective reporting requirement to the State of Delaware,” and report to the General Assembly by the end of January. 

Volunteer fire departments in the state are generally welcoming the investigation. 

In particular Christiana Fire Chief Rich Perillo told the newspaper he is proud of his organization's transparency and welcomes the stricter statewide policies. Christiana volunteers have the benefit of a professional office manager on the payroll to keep the books in order. 

"I am not suggesting the way we do things is good for the other 59 departments," Perillo told the paper. "I just know it's good for us."