Volunteers vote to end fire service

New department to be formed, first selectman says

MORRIS — A fiery uproar in the town of Morris could have left residents without a volunteer Fire Department.

A statement from the department was released Tuesday announcing that its members had voted to “cease providing fire, rescue, and EMS services,” as of June 30.

The statement noted that the decision was not made lightly, but came after the department felt it could not come to a “reasonable working relationship with the town administrators.”

Fire Department President Virginia Steinway said Tuesday that the department and the Board of Selectman spent more than a year trying to draw up a contract. She said a recent decision by First Selectman Tom Weik not to fund fully the state-mandated annual physicals for volunteers was the last straw.

In a YouTube video, from an advisory board meeting on April 19, which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/krG31QGonEQ, Fire Chief Joel Skilton and Weik can be heard at the 16-minute mark, discussing the subject. “He refused to pay for the physicals. Every year the physicals have been paid for by the town,” Skilton said Tuesday.

He’s been the volunteer fire chief for 31 years.

In May 2017, the volunteer department stopped providing ambulance service to the town. Instead, the work went to the Litchfield Volunteer Ambulance service. In the advisory meeting, Weik questions why physicals are needed for emergency medical technicians when the department no longer runs the ambulance service.

In a statement released Tuesday evening, Weik wrote that the town is disappointed that the volunteer department has made the decision to cease providing fire service.

“It is an unfitting ending to a department that gave 75 years of selfless volunteerism to our Town,” the statement said.

Despite the threat of the department leaving the town without fire service, Weik said there is an alternative. “We will be providing seamless coverage to the residents beginning July 1st at midnight when the Morris Volunteer Fire Department shuts their doors,” the statement said.

In an interview Tuesday evening, Weik said an allvolunteer department will be formed “with different people who have a lot of experience.”

He noted the existing department “has declining numbers and has been squeezed” in its operations. “It’s put a strain of the department.”

Weik wrote that more details about the transition will be released as plans are finalized. He noted that fire departments in surrounding towns will continue the practice of providing mutual aid to Morris.

Contributed photo A sign in support of the Morris Volunteer Fire Department, which plans to cease operations on June 30.