“The morale went through a valley almost a year ago and now it’s gone back up again,” he said. “Everybody is here because they want to be and that’s why they’re not going to quit.”
The Whispering Pines Volunteer Fire Department was at the center of a firestorm last summer. After Louis Gregory was hired as the village’s head of public safety, which gave him jurisdiction over the Fire Department, seven volunteers abruptly quit, including former chief Mike Cornell.
Since that time, the Village Council, Gregory, the Fire Department and the Police Department have been subject to intense scrutiny from residents such as Joe Stout and Katherine Rice. Stout, Rice and others have been watching the Fire Depart-ment’s every move.
Gregory is listed as one of the defendants in a lawsuit brought against the Village Council by Stout and 10 others.
Through it all, the 26 men and three women who make up the Fire Department have stuck together. While many of them say they are tired of the sometimes negative attention, their morale and dedication to serving the village is as strong as it’s ever been.
“After a call, if you watch these guys, they’re a bunch of clowns,” LaForge said. “They love having a good time. They’ll be playing, laughing, joking and spraying each other with water when they’re washing the trucks. That’s not going to change. We may be frustrated, but we’re not having problems with morale.”
Gregory believes that dedication is apparent in the way the men and women go about their jobs.
“My feelings about our fire and police departments is that we have the very best working for us,” Gregory said. “I just hate the distractions they’ve been going through. It’s caused them some problems as far as their morale.”
“We may hit a few bumps in the road now and then, but overall our morale is good,” Chief Richard McKenzie said.
Scottie Scott, a 15-year veteran who has volunteered in Whispering Pines since 1999, doesn’t see why the criticism is necessary.
“My question is what did we ever do to them?” he said. “That’s the burning question that’s never been answered. What is the Fire Department doing wrong? But I don’t let it bother me. It affects the feelings that you have, but it doesn’t affect your job.”
Scott said the members of the Fire Department would do the job at hand no matter what. He acknowledges that the possibility of answering a fire call at the residence of one of their critics exists.
“Whether it is a naysayer or someone who is 100-percent behind the Fire Department, they all get treated the same,” Scott said. “We don’t differentiate.
“We depend on each other. They can say whatever they want about us. We don’t depend on them to physically help us. I’m not saying we don’t depend on them for monetary support, but the public has no bearing on how we physically do our job.”
Scott said that feelings of dedication to the job and camaraderie have only grown since 9/11. He said the feeling that Fire Departments are a brotherhood has spread throughout paid and volunteer fire departments throughout the country, not just in New York.
The fire department is going through a survey by the state fire marshal’s office, which tracks its response times and aims to ensure that enough firefighters are on the scene when a call is answered.
Former Mayor Roy Musgnug contacted the state fire marshal’s office last year to ask for the survey in an effort prove that the department is performing as it should.
The survey revealed a few minor problems, but McKenzie said they have been rectified.
“I think the survey has really helped us,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie said that in the past a private company evaluated the department and provided its insurance rating. The state fire marshal handles that responsibility now. The difference, according to McKenzie, is that the private company wasn’t as diligent in telling the department what it needed to improve.
The fire marshal requires that firefighters respond with a truck whether it’s needed or not. McKenzie said that in the past, if he arrived before the truck and saw there was no need for one, he would send it back before it arrived.
“That’s what we used to do,” he said. “Why have a truck flying down the road when you don’t need it? But now, according to the state fire marshal, you have to have a truck go to the scene or you get a no-response call. That could raise your insurance rating back up.”
LaForge said the department has been motivated by the survey.
The 12-month survey will end in October. Through the first five months, the fire department has a perfect track record on responses.
“We’ve been in compliance and will remain in compliance,” Gregory said. “They turn out for every call, more than what’s expected.”
Scott said Whispering Pines’ response times are ranked in the top half of all the departments in Moore County — paid or volunteer. He challenged citizens to wake up at 2 a.m., get dressed and drive to the fire station.
“They’re ragging us about 12 minutes,” he said. “I think the longest it’s taken us on a call in the last little while is 14 minutes. Most of the time it takes us less than eight or nine minutes.”
Though the Fire Department has been performing as required — if not better — Gregory said some residents are still not satisfied. He said firefighters have told him they are being followed on fire calls. Others have said citizens have been writing down tag numbers at the fire station to record who’s there and who’s not.
“They’re here to watch their activities and monitor what they’re doing and they’re tired of it,” Gregory said.
McKenzie said that when the alarm sounds, the department is all business.
“When we have a fire call we concentrate on what the call is,” he said. “We do not concentrate on or worry about who’s there. Our focus is on protecting lives, safety and protecting property. We don’t worry about who’s there unless it’s somebody that’s in danger.”
LaForge said he was speaking for the entire department when he said,” I’m a volunteer and I’m here because I want to be here.”
For now, the scrutiny is merely a distraction that doesn’t affect the performance. But that could change if some of the volunteers decide to quit.
“It will interfere if they decide to leave because of it,” Gregory said. He said several firefighters have broached the idea of leaving in recent months.
Gregory said he recently talked to the firefighters and was assured that no one would be leaving. “I don’t have as much concern now that I’ve been able to talk to them,” he said.
Gregory wanted to reassure the residents of Whispering Pines that their fire service isn’t in jeopardy.
“We have professionals here that are dedicated and they are doing an outstanding job,” he said. “Operationally, we have no concerns. The public should understand that our firefighters are committed to being here now.
“I look forward to October when I will be able to report that we have done all the things the fire marshal has asked us to do. Our fire department is made up of volunteers and they are here as servants. They’re here because they want to be here and they don’t have to be here. They all have a sincere desire to do the best job possible.”
LaForge admits he’d rather be in bed at 2 a.m., but said he and the others do what they do simply because, “we want to help other people.”
