CHARLOTTE, Mich. — All 23 volunteer firefighters of the Charlotte Fire Department resigned on Monday, saying they had been the target of “baseless claims and untruths.”
Chief Robert Vogel announced on Tuesday that he would resign effective April 4, leaving Charlotte’s Fire Department with six full-time firefighters to respond to calls.
Volunteer firefighter Ronald Smith addressed the City Council on Monday, saying that “our fire department has been targeted by various members of this body. Many baseless claims and untruths both intentional and unintentional have been propagated to tarnish the name of our fire department. Although we have had multiple discussions with some of you, there has been a little change up to this point.”
In the meeting, Smith said they want to put an end to “unfounded accusations of intimidation and recent questioning of our standard operating procedures for various types of emergency calls.”
Smith said the Council may not realize how many people it takes to save a life and that two people in an ambulance are not enough.
Vogel said in a city press release that he is leaving for personal reasons.
“I have truly enjoyed my time here in Charlotte serving as Fire Chief,” he said. “I am so grateful for the friends I have made in the department and people throughout the community. I will miss the full-time staff and volunteers alike and I hope for the best for the department moving forward.”
Mayor Michael Armitage assured the city that fire protection will continue.
“We have partners. We have dedicated full-time firefighters,” Armitage said. “I'm sure that as we move forward, we will find dedicated members of the community to serve our fire department. I think what happened just now is unfortunate and I did not know that this was coming.”
Members of the community are worried that six firefighters won’t be able to handle the emergencies.
“There's no way that six people will be able to handle this,” said Keisha Howe, the owner of Reflections Boutique. “Banking on surrounding areas to cover us is, I don't think, a realistic idea.”
“I'm in shock,” said Nicole Christensen, the owner of Night Society Entertainment. “Tears, of course…I'm very worried about our community and I don't feel our city officials are taking this seriously."
“We've been asked not to, you know, outlash at them," she said, "of course, try to keep things on a peaceful ground, which is fine. I support the city completely and I support our firemen even more.”
Smith the volunteers hadn't wanted to resign.
“The desire of the volunteers is to be in the seats of the fire trucks serving the community,” he said. “Making this decision was the hardest thing we've had to do. What we want most is to be in the seats serving the community. But in order for that to happen, there has to be resolution to the issues that we have endured for the last two and a half years.”
To the members of the community who have reached out and supported them during this difficult time, "we truly, sincerely appreciate all of your support, and we did not come to this decision lightly,” Smith said.
On Tuesday, Smith and other volunteer firefighters had a four-hour-long discussion with council member Christopher Lake. On Wednesday, they met with City Manager Erin LaPere.
LaPere said, she and the Council have been completely surprised by the resignations, but she was looking to discuss the firefighters' concerns and work towards a resolution during the meeting.
Smith described both discussions as very productive. Further conversations will continue on Thursday, and Smith said, he is hoping for quick resolutions.
The six remaining full-time firefighters said in a statement that they fully support the volunteers.
“The full-time members understand the frustration of the volunteers that has been caused by the mayor, council members, past and present, and the President of the Rural Fire Association,” Charlotte Fire Fighters Union’s President Dan Daly said, adding that “We are disappointed that the mayor believes the best course of action is to recruit a new volunteer department rather than resolving the issues that led to the volunteers making this tough decision.”
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