Leaders to Meet with Volunteer Fire Companies in Norwich, CT, amid Closure

Norwich — The city and four volunteer fire companies have announced they plan to hold a meeting Monday to discuss a path forward on the Unified Command policy.

The meeting would take place nearly three weeks after the city shut down Yantic Fire Engine Co. No. 1 and repossessed its five trucks after Yantic did not sign an agreement to comply with the policy, which was announced in August 2025 and established via executive orders from City Fire Chief Sam Wilson.

The 179-year-old fire company has now seen its city funding cut off and access to emergency notification systems suspended.

Earlier this week, an attorney working on behalf of four of the city's five volunteer companies — Taftville, Yantic, Occum and Laurel Hill — sued the city, alleging Wilson and City Manager John Salomone exceeded their authority under the City Charter in establishing the policy.

The shutdown, the policy, and the two city officials have been heavily criticized by supporters of the volunteer companies, some of whom have called for Salomone and Wilson's resignations. The four volunteer companies and the city have each hired public relations firms to handle their statements on the controversy.

Wilson and Salomone said Monday's meeting would be the first time all parties have come to the table together since Yantic was shut down.

It's unknown exactly what will be discussed at the meeting, which will be held behind closed doors and not open to the press.

Salomone said the meeting doesn't "have an agenda per se, other than a discussion on the issues and to see where we can move forward." He said the city wants to come to some sort of joint agreement, and is hopeful the volunteers want that too.

"That's up to them, to see where they want to go," he said.

Representatives on both sides say the fact that the meeting is happening represents an important step toward resolving their issues.

In a joint statement Thursday from the city and the four volunteer companies, they said they have been encouraged by progress made in recent communications, and that the meeting is meant to engage in a "good faith discussion regarding our next steps."

"This meeting represents a positive development in the spirit of collaboration," the statement read. "We look forward to working together to ensure the continued safety and well-being of the Norwich community through our shared commitment to public service."

Justin May, a spokesperson representing the volunteer companies, said he couldn't comment on what his clients would discuss at the meeting, but issued the following statement:

"The Norwich Volunteer Fire Departments are and have always been willing to sit down with the City of Norwich to begin dialogue and work toward a timely resolution that puts residents’ safety first, while respecting the City Charter and the long tradition of volunteer service in our community. We are hopeful they are willing to do the same and look forward to our meeting."

Salomone, too, said the city was always open to that discussion.

"Some of it got lost in the fog, so to speak," he said.

Yantic and its supporters frequently have referenced how quickly the city issued an ultimatum to sign the agreement.

On Feb. 9 at 7:32 p.m., the city's corporation counsel sent the agreement to the Yantic department asking that it be signed by 10 a.m. the following day.

Yantic Chief Bobby Allen, along with critics of the shutdown and others with the department, have argued it would have been nearly impossible for Yantic to get its members together and sign the agreement in less than 15 hours.

Meanwhile, Salomone had argued that if the department had notified him that it was trying to get its people ready to sign, it may not have avoided the shutdown but could have worked things out sooner.

Salomone, on Thursday, said that could've "avoided all this... we could've had a dialogue going."

Salomone, who's been in the city about a decade, and Wilson, who's been on the job for a year, have maintained that the long-fragmented fire services were in need of organization. This led to the policy, which aims to standardize training, communications and emergency response protocols for both paid and volunteer fire services in the city, and deem a clear structure of command at fire scenes, with Wilson at the top, followed by battalion chiefs and volunteer chiefs.

On the day of the shutdown, Wilson, without getting into specific instances before a court hearing, said the areas where Yantic had failed to comply with that policy constituted operational hazards.

And Salomone, on Thursday, said he still believes Unified Command is the right thing.

"I certainly haven't changed my position on that," he said.

Wilson stands behind it too. The city chief on Thursday said he hopes that the volunteers realize that Unified Command and all of the directives he and Salomone have put in place are "for the safety and benefit of the citizens."

"It strengthens us as a fire department in our service-forward agency for the entire city of Norwich," he added.

Though the meeting will be private, the City Manager's Office said it looks forward to sharing another update when it's able.

"This is a positive step in the right direction, and I hope everyone utilizes this opportunity to find a solution-based approach, Mayor Swarnjit Singh said, reiterating that strong fire services in the city must include both paid and volunteer firefighters.

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