Putney Fire Department is back in business

PUTNEY — As of Saturday at noon, the Putney Fire Department is back in business.

The Putney Select Board unanimously agreed Friday evening in special session to reinstate the volunteer department, almost two months after suspending it after a walk-out by its interim chief and most of the department.

The firefighters cited a lack of respect between town officials and the department, and the upheaval came only a couple of weeks after the retirement of longtime Fire Chief Tom Goddard.

The board Friday endorsed an interim strategic plan put together by Town Manager Karen Astley and Interim Fire Chief Brian Harlow that splits up the various responsibilities of the fire chief, defines the job description of the chief, and addresses other long standing issues.

The report, which was given to the Select Board on Wednesday, was discussed in outline only during Friday’s meeting and the report wasn’t publicly available at the time of the meeting.

Select Board Chairwoman Aileen Chute thanked people for their hard work getting the plan in writing. “We’re good to go,” said Chute at the end of the meeting. “Thank you for all your work,” she said to Astley, Harlow and others in the audience at the fire station.

Chute noted that Alden and others want the fire department to report to the Select Board at its regular meetings to keep communication flowing.

“I don’t know what I don’t know,” she said.

The activation of the fire department does not include the town’s emergency medical responders, who will continue to work under Rescue Inc.’s auspices. Previously, they were considered members of the fire department, and that appears to be the future goal.

One thing at a time, the board said.

Harlow, who was named interim chief only after the walkout in early April of 12 firefighters, said that the department has 10 members and promises of additional firefighters. Harlow is the recently retired town highway foreman.

Harlow said one of the department’s fire trucks was in Chesterfield, N.H., for maintenance, and would be back on Saturday, prompting the Saturday time frame. And while the department has enough staff to go forward, he said, mutual aid is still in the picture.

Since the fire department was suspended on April 4, the town has been covered for fire emergencies by Westminster, Dummerston and Brattleboro fire departments. The emergency medical responders were immediately put under the auspices of Rescue Inc., and the overwhelming majority of the town’s emergency calls are medical in nature. Harlow said members of the fire department would assist emergency medical calls as needed, and if members are qualified.

Select Board member Peg Alden wasn’t at Friday’s meeting, which was held at the fire station. But she sent questions via Chute, Chute said.

“Basically the plan and the supplemental contained a roster with certifications, a training schedule, a job description for the interim chief, regular reports to the select board, among other things the select board requested,” Chute said after the meeting, in summarizing the plan.

Laura Chapman has previously said “there had been a lot of hurt feelings” among members of the department in the past months, or even years, and she urged the department to communicate with each other and the town officials.

And, she urged the department members to be more inclusive in their language, and to avoid the general term “guys,” which excludes the female members of the department.

“I hope you can think about that going forward,” she said.

Harlow, a few minutes later, responded with a “guys” and then caught himself.

Chute said the board was “comfortable” with the plan, and she urged Astley and Harlow to put their additional response to board questions in the plan.

“The more things are in writing,” said Chute, “we won’t get to this point again.”

After the meeting, Chute said the strategic plan had been posted on the town’s website, https://putneyvt.org/vertical/sites/%7BAFAACF45-D9AA-42F6-BFAF-8BC25D547B48%7D/uploads/5.24.202