By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• City of Norwich, Connecticut, repossessed five fire apparatus from the long-serving Yantic Volunteer Fire Engine Company after shutting down the department amid a command dispute.
• The action took place Wednesday afternoon, with public works employees removing the trucks under a police escort.
• Norwich officials said the volunteer company failed to comply with a directive to adopt a unified command structure with the city’s paid fire department.
• The city has reassigned emergency coverage in the Yantic area to its fire department and froze access to funds for the volunteer company.
NORWICH, CT — City of Norwich public works employees, escorted by Norwich police, repossessed five fire trucks from the Yantic Volunteer Fire Engine Company Wednesday after the city shut down the volunteer department, officials and witnesses said.
The apparatus — three engines, a rescue truck and a squad truck — were driven out of the Yantic firehouse in the afternoon, about one day after Norwich officials formally removed the 179-year-old volunteer company from emergency response service, according to city statements and local reporting.
Norwich’s action followed a months-long dispute over a city mandate requiring the volunteer department to operate under a unified command structure with the professional fire department, which the city says is intended to standardize incident command, training and communications.
City officials froze the volunteer company’s access to funds and removed it from the 911 dispatch system after its leadership did not sign the agreement by the deadline, and the trucks were subject to a court-ordered injunction directing their return to the city.
Norwich has since reassigned fire protection for the Yantic response area to its paid department, with coverage being provided from a substation and a staffed engine.
Supporters of the volunteer department voiced concerns about the city’s actions during a public safety commission meeting, raising issues related to community safety and the historic role of the volunteer company.