Citizens concerned about the future of St. Elmo-Irvington Volunteer Fire Department
IRVINGTON, Ala. (WKRG) — The St. Elmo-Irvington Volunteer Fire Department’s station was a packed house Friday night as fire leaders and citizens voiced their concerns about the future of the department.
Assistant Chief Brandon McClain led the meeting, and he was very vocal about how the department lacked significant resources following the suspension of fire chief John Carpenter due to a medical issue.
Robertsdale couple charged with child abuse: RPD
“We lack the funding to provide the proper training, the equipment and the personnel,” said McClain.
And those issues have caused some of the volunteers to leave the department.
“You can’t have an officer or a chief who’s not certified and be able to learn from them, even though they do have the experience,” former firefighter Lacey Storer said. “And then, you know, also when it comes to being able to be properly fit to go into a fire—gear just is either out of date or it doesn’t fit properly, which leaves places exposed on a firefighter and just things like that.”
“I would say management, poorly spent money; the lack of leadership is extreme,” former firefighter Kayleigh Grayson added.
One of the board members for the department, Gabriel Peck said money isn’t the issue in the department.
“But eventually, everything gets paid,” Peck said. “It paid for this building, this new building for training. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”
However, firefighters said they are lacking essentials, and Assistant Chief McClain hopes raising the fire dues for citizens will help the issue, but some citizens are skeptical of that.
“How do you know that that money that we’re getting raised on is going to train will help take care of my wife and daughter?” a member of the community questioned.
The St. Elmo-Volunteer Volunteer Department holds its district meetings every second Monday of each month.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
