Norwich, CT, Shuts Down Another Volunteer Fire Company Citing Safety Concerns

Jun. 6—NORWICH — Taftville Fire Company was closed Friday morning, becoming the second local volunteer fire department to be shuttered by city officials this year over safety concerns and other issues.

The 109-year-old agency was ordered to vacate the Providence Street firehouse at about 10 a.m. after city lawyers asked a judge to give them control of the city-owned station and its emergency vehicles, according to the company.

Norwich City Manager John Salomone said the city initiated the legal action due to a "critical breakdown" in service that has culminated in multiple missed calls for high-priority incidents and medical alarms.

"We have made every possible effort over the last several months to establish a collaborative framework that respects our volunteers while protecting the public," Salomone said. "Unfortunately, a persistent refusal to operate within a unified structure has left us with an unsustainable safety risk."

The move comes nearly four months after the city closed Yantic Fire Engine Company, a 179-year-old volunteer agency, for similar reasons. At the time, city officials claimed the department failed to adhere to safety standards.

The dispute arose after Salomone and Fire Chief Samuel Wilson launched an effort to unify the town's volunteer agencies under the city's professional department, in part to increase operation efficiency and strengthen safety measures.

The Yantic, Taftville, Occum and Laurel Hill departments have claimed the effort is unlawful and have filed a lawsuit to block the changes. The departments also have disputed the allegations of widespread safety issues.

In a joint statement Friday, the chiefs of the volunteer fire departments accused the city of attempting to eliminate volunteer firefighters in favor of paid crews. They argued the change eventually will require increased taxes.

"The Norwich community has spoken loudly on the issue, but instead, these Norwich leaders are ignoring them and forcing even more qualified, experienced firefighters out of work at a massive cost to Norwich taxpayers," the chiefs said.

Lawyers for the city said in an injunction filed Wednesday that the Taftville department was terminated "due to operational deficiencies, safety concerns and noncompliance with city directives." They claimed the agency had obstructed the city's ability to fight fires by refusing to vacate the station.

In an affidavit submitted to the court, Wilson pointed to a handful of recent examples that raised concerns. For example, he said the agency wrongly reported on May 4 that crews were en route to a call despite still being at the station.

Wilson also said the department was unable to respond to two separate incidents that same day due to a lack of personnel, and failed to respond on May 28 to two separate fire alarms at William Backus Hospital.

"The inability to access the premises creates an imminent risk to public safety, including delayed emergency response and lack of access to essential equipment," Wilson said in the affidavit.

In a statement, Wilson said the injunction is strictly about retrieving city property and executing his duty to keep the lines of emergency response open and fully staffed around the clock.

"When a fire department cannot reliably answer a call for help at a regional hospital or a local home, it's clear that the system is fractured," Wilson said. "Our goal has always been to modernize our structure so that the closest and most capable assets are dispatched automatically."

Salomone said Norwich Fire Department has established an "emergency staffing framework" that will allow the city to replace volunteer Taftville firefighters at the Providence Street station with career personnel.

"This emergency staffing model is a necessary step to ensure that every neighborhood in Norwich receives a dependable, rapid and uniform standard of emergency care," Salomone said.

Despite the legal action, city officials said they remain open to an arrangement that would allow career and volunteer personnel to share the facility and operate collaboratively under "a unified, professional command structure."

© 2026 the New Haven Register (New Haven, Conn.). Visit www.nhregister.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.