As of Wednesday, there is no longer a Fishers Fire District.
After responding to fires and other emergencies for over 100 years, firefighters have turned over the responsibility to the Town of Victor after they lost the battle to stay alive.
“I always thought that, during my tenure here, the pandemic was the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced. This was the biggest challenge, no question about it. When we went through the pandemic, everyone was going through the same thing. Has anyone else ever gone through this? It’s been extremely hard," Victor Town Supervisor Jack Marren told WHEC.
In August, Assistant Chief Michael Koch told fire board members: “People moved into the town of Victor for the schools, for the community, for the public safety services. And the commissioners had brought us back to 1980."
At the same meeting, Lt. Pete Ellison said it's difficult. “The whole last two months, it’s been like that – a slow death. We’re down staffing, we’re down half our staff. So, it’s it’s tough to come into work."
As some firefighters resigned to take jobs in nearby departments, some crews worked 72 to 96-hour shifts to fill the void.
The reason for the dissolvement -- money. The tax levey went from $1.6 million in 2015 to $5.3 million this year.
Firefighters from other departments are handling calls.
