Robin Kemp, The current
The city of Midway could lose its only fire station after the interim chief and most of the volunteer fire department resigned Monday night. A Georgia fire marshal has sent the city a letter giving it 30 days to get the department back in line.
“The county has already stated that under no circumstances will it take over the Midway Fire Department without adequate compensation,” Campbell said.
Mayor Levern Clancy said the city has an intergovernmental agreement with Liberty County to fight fires: “I talked to Chief (Brian) Darby and he said, ‘No problem, we can handle it.'”
Darby has stated that he is not involved in negotiations between the city and the county regarding fire protection coverage, and that no department heads are involved in those discussions.
County Manager Joey Brown wrote via email, “Right now we are gathering data. No commitment at this time. Until we analyze everything, I cannot give definitive answers on costs, equipment, etc. that may or may not be needed. Sorry!!” Brown added that he would “not feel comfortable commenting on GFSTC’s ultimatum” because it was “strictly a City of Midway matter.”
City and district in discussion
Clancy had said the city would ask Liberty County to take over fire protection full-time. He added that there has already been a meeting between the city and county and another is scheduled for Aug. 26. However, Clancy said, “I’m not going to make any assumptions because we are still in dispute with the county. So I don’t know at this point.”
Campbell doubts Clancy’s claim that the county told him he would close the loophole. He also claims Clancy closed the fire station in retaliation after The current and other news organizations reported on the conditions in the dilapidated station.
The mayor said he told firefighters in July not to enter the station after firefighters The current what looked like black mold on a ceiling tile and complained that the city had not responded to requests to repair fire equipment. He said he called police after Mayor Clemontine Washington “asked me if they were on duty there” and that he told her the training was to take place “in the parking lot for the safety of the city.”
At Monday’s meeting, Washington told the council that the Liberty County Fire Department is “referring emergency calls due to a lack of volunteers” and that it will continue to do so “as the city considers the various options for fire protection, but citizens will continue to be protected by the County Fire Department.”
Campbell said Washington texted him at 5:44 p.m.: “Deputy Chief. Please be advised that the fire station is closed. There is a sign on the door that you should not ignore.”
“Clancy called the police”
He then sent a text message to firefighter and paramedic Scott Nordstrom, saying, “Hey buddy, you need to get out of the station. You are not allowed in the station, the sign is on the door.” He said Nordstrom left the station and he instructed Nordstrom to refuel engines 1 and 2.
Campbell said he arrived at 7 p.m., completed some reports, then went on a practice drive with the firefighters and left the station 5 or 10 minutes later. At about 7:15 p.m., he said, “(Clancy) called the police.”
According to Campbell, the officer told him, “I got a call that there were people here who shouldn’t be here. And I said, ‘As far as I know, sir, but we haven’t been here in the last hour.'” Campbell asked who made the call, “and he said, ‘Well, it was the mayor.'”
Clancy said he arrived at the station, saw firefighters in the bay and told them he had called police “to tell all of you that for your safety, you are not to go into the building.”
And I said, ‘Okay, if I can’t go to the bay, why did you tell me I can still make calls?’ I said, ‘Because if I can’t go to the bay, that means I can’t get my truck out.'”
At that point, he said, Clancy explained, “Well, you don’t have to make any more calls, the county will take care of it.”
Campbell added that he had gone out with the county to a structure fire call the day before and that two weeks earlier he had “taken over some of the county’s calls when they were out to a structure fire just to help them out so their calls were taken over… I’m not sure where you got your information, but it’s wrong.” (Clancy) said, ‘Well, that’s coming straight from the county.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m not sure who you’re talking to, but they’re lying to you. I’m not going to sit here and argue with you. I have all the reports and everything if you want to see them.’ He said, ‘No, there’s no need for that.'”
Campbell: “Here is my radio. I quit.”
Finally, Campbell said, ‘Okay, if I can’t even go into the station, I can’t make calls, but you want me to train anyway.’ He said, ‘Yes, you can all train in the parking lot.’ I said, ‘No, sir, we can’t do that… If I can’t go into the station and get my truck out, if I can’t go into the station and get my truck out and that means I can’t go into the station and get my equipment, then how am I supposed to train?… You know what? That’s fine. ‘Here’s my radio. I quit. I’m done with this. You are taking the lives of every person in this town into your own hands.'”
Campbell claims the mayor retaliated against the fire department for speaking to reporters about conditions at the station. He called their encounter “very shocking” and said he had “absolutely no idea” why he believed Washington and Campbell attacked the volunteer fire department.
“They put me in a position to turn the department around,” he said. “I got all the people back who had lost their certifications, got their records back up to date, and then they pulled this crap. I really don’t know.”
Clancy also said he didn’t understand how the relationship deteriorated. “I never had any animosity with them,” he said. “The deputy mayor (Washington) keeps bringing up what the fire department needs so we can talk about it. It never occurred to me that there wasn’t animosity between the deputy mayor and the firefighters. It just confused me … and she said she didn’t know anything about it.”
Clancy: Citizens have no need to worry
The citizens of Midway are caught between the fronts.
“Safety is still assured,” Clancy said, promising that in the event of a building fire, medical emergency or other major incident, “the city or county will forward the 911 call. Nothing has changed. E-911 is coming. Someone from the fire department is coming. So you don’t have to worry.”
Campbell disagrees. “The county has already stated that there is no way they are going to take over the City of Midway Fire Department without being fairly compensated for it,” he said, adding that if they do that, the county will “have to hire a whole bunch more people, and I mean, they’re not going to do that for free.”
According to critics on social media who say City Hall is ignoring citizens’ concerns, Clancy said, “We had a seat open on City Council and you could come here and qualify for three days. A lot of people called, but only one came and qualified. So all they’re doing is making noise. They all had a chance to come here and voice their opinion and everything would have been fine. Nobody came and qualified.” Clancy said Midway residents can call him at City Hall at (912) 884-3344 or on his cell phone at (912) 332-4103 or stop him or council members on the street to talk to him for a few minutes if they want.
Campbell can now spend Monday nights with his family after working full-time at another fire department in the area. He says he’s been helping other volunteer firefighters find jobs so they don’t lose their certification.
However, he says he doesn’t understand how the city could have allowed its fire station to get to this point.
“It’s sickening,” Campbell said. “I’ve spent over 10 years in this place and I’ve put a lot of work into it and, you know, I love this place more than anything,” Campbell said. “And someone, I don’t know, as cold-hearted as the mayor, just trampled on it. I don’t understand that.”
GPB reaches this story through a reporting partnership with The current one.
