Maxwell City, Iowa Firefighters Booted Over Physical Form Flap Reinstated

The suspension of seven Maxwell volunteer firefighters was withdrawn during Maxwell’s City Council meeting Monday night.

More than 30 people crammed into Maxwell City Hall to discuss the suspension of nearly half of the town’s volunteer firefighters. Seven of the 17 firefighters were suspended Jan. 21 after they failed to turn in a Story County Medical Center (SCMC) physical form by the Dec. 31, 2012 deadline. Fire Chief Nancy Pritchard asked the council to uphold the suspensions.

The physicals became a requirement for all firefighters after Pritchard approached city council during the Aug. 6, 2012, meeting. At the meeting, Pritchard said the department would become eligible for a wellness grant if all firefighters had a physical, according to council minutes. If a firefighter did not pass a physical, they would become inactive, meaning they could not do any physical activity in or out of the fire station, and would be ineligible to vote during meetings. However, any firefighters who did not pass the physical could re-take it and, if they passed, could join the force again, according to the minutes. The Council approved a motion to pay for physicals for all firefighters and first responders.

At Monday night’s meeting, Tammy Hudson, the wife of one of the suspended firefighters, said Pritchard distributed SCMC physical forms to firefighters during a fire department meeting Nov. 19. Firefighters were not given any specifications on where they needed to have a physical done, Hudson said. Some of the suspended firefighters had physicals completed at a different hospital than SCMC, and subsequently turned in different physical forms than the ones provided to them. It was clarified at Monday night’s Council meeting that hospitals will not fill out physical forms if the form has a different hospital’s name on it. Those non-SCMC physical forms were not accepted by Pritchard, resulting in the suspension of any firefighter who did not turn in that specific form.

Hudson made the argument that firefighters were under the impression that as long as they turned in proof they had passed a physical, they could still be a member of the volunteer department.

“The chief should have communicated with them better,” Hudson said.

She also said she had recently called the organization that offers the wellness grant and was told the firefighters did not need to complete a physical in order for the department to become eligible for the grant.

In response, Pritchard said she contacted the organization June 5 and was told a basic physical was needed to be considered for the grant. If any of the firefighters had issues with the physicals, they should have addressed those issues during the six weeks between the time they were given the physical forms and the date the forms needed to be turned in, she said.

“They did not become an issue until after the Jan. 21 meeting (when the firefighters were told they were suspended),” Hudson said of the physicals.

Council member Shannon Robertson said he doesn’t want to lose the Hudsons (six of the seven suspended firefighters) because of the years of experience they bring to the department. Rather, he wants to see everyone within the department get along.

“We’re losing almost half our department, and in a town like this, it means a lot,” Robertson said of the suspensions.

In the end, the Council voted 4-0-1 in favor of a motion made by Robertson to lift the suspensions on all seven firefighters. Council member Leota Hudson abstained from the vote due to being related to some of the suspended firefighters.

Council decided to discuss the physical requirements for firefighters during an annual meeting with township fire departments, to be held in March.

A lack of communication and a lack of trust among fire department members seemed to be the source fueling Monday night’s debate over the physicals. Mayor Marcus Fricke said there are some deep-rooted issues that need to be resolved through better collaboration and communication within the department.

“We’ve got a long road to recovery, no matter what happens,” Fricke said.