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CALLING ALL FIRE BROTHERS AND SISTERS Check this out in Windom Minnesota
This makes me sickto my stomach ! sounds to me like city officials need a serious reality check as well as to re-think what they are going to start if they do this.
Council may decide fire chief's future Tuesday
Citizen Online has learned that the Windom city council may discuss the possibility of removing Fire Chief Dan Fossing from the Windom Fire Department at Tuesday night's regular meeting.
According to members of the Windom Fire Department, the city personnel committee has recommended Fossing's removal because of a disagreement about how a fire truck was used.
According to sources within the fire department, the issue started this summer when one of Windom's firefighters was getting married and asked to have a fire truck in the wedding photos and to have it carry the wedding party to the Windom Community Center.
The firefighter reportedly asked city officials if that would be OK. According to sources, the city administrator then polled council members and learned that the truck could be used in the photo, but could never leave the fire hall. In other words, a photo could be taken with the truck outside the fire hall.
Because fire trucks are required to be taken on regular test drives, Fossing decided to take the truck to the church on the day of the wedding. That way the photo could be taken without having the wedding party drive to the fire hall. After the photo, Fossing returned the truck to the fire hall. The wedding party was not given a ride to the Community Center.
Fossing told firefighters his intention was not to override a council decision, but rather to find a workable solution that allowed a dedicated firefighter to have his wedding photo taken with a fire truck.
The photo eventually appeared online on someone's Facebook, causing this matter to come to the personnel committee's attention. The committee has met a few times on this issue and decided Tuesday to make the recommendation to remove Fossing from the chief position and from the fire department.
City Administrator Steve Nasby said he cannot comment on the matter because it is a private personnel issue. Mayor Kirby Kruse has also declined to comment because it is a personnel matter.
Nasby did say that he anticipates having a personnel item on Tuesday's city council agenda. (The council agenda is not finalized until Friday.)
However, he added that it is not yet known whether that portion of the meeting will be open or closed. Typically in a personnel matter, the employee (in this case Fossing) has the option of requesting that the meeting be open.
Fossing has been a member of the Windom fire department for 21 years. Sources maintain that Fossing had a spotless personnel file prior to this incident.
Council may decide fire chief's future Tuesday
Citizen Online has learned that the Windom city council may discuss the possibility of removing Fire Chief Dan Fossing from the Windom Fire Department at Tuesday night's regular meeting.
According to members of the Windom Fire Department, the city personnel committee has recommended Fossing's removal because of a disagreement about how a fire truck was used.
According to sources within the fire department, the issue started this summer when one of Windom's firefighters was getting married and asked to have a fire truck in the wedding photos and to have it carry the wedding party to the Windom Community Center.
The firefighter reportedly asked city officials if that would be OK. According to sources, the city administrator then polled council members and learned that the truck could be used in the photo, but could never leave the fire hall. In other words, a photo could be taken with the truck outside the fire hall.
Because fire trucks are required to be taken on regular test drives, Fossing decided to take the truck to the church on the day of the wedding. That way the photo could be taken without having the wedding party drive to the fire hall. After the photo, Fossing returned the truck to the fire hall. The wedding party was not given a ride to the Community Center.
Fossing told firefighters his intention was not to override a council decision, but rather to find a workable solution that allowed a dedicated firefighter to have his wedding photo taken with a fire truck.
The photo eventually appeared online on someone's Facebook, causing this matter to come to the personnel committee's attention. The committee has met a few times on this issue and decided Tuesday to make the recommendation to remove Fossing from the chief position and from the fire department.
City Administrator Steve Nasby said he cannot comment on the matter because it is a private personnel issue. Mayor Kirby Kruse has also declined to comment because it is a personnel matter.
Nasby did say that he anticipates having a personnel item on Tuesday's city council agenda. (The council agenda is not finalized until Friday.)
However, he added that it is not yet known whether that portion of the meeting will be open or closed. Typically in a personnel matter, the employee (in this case Fossing) has the option of requesting that the meeting be open.
Fossing has been a member of the Windom fire department for 21 years. Sources maintain that Fossing had a spotless personnel file prior to this incident.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on
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i wonder if they ment it just couldnt be taken out of service i mean if it has to be taken on test drives it sounds like the chief made it all come together
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Permalink Reply by Galen McCarthy "CURBY" on
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I do understand that facebook does indeed cause problems, but, to give you insight a little further on things there is not a good thing I can say about Windoms city councel and how they treat their fire dept. Here in Jackson we have used trucks in weddings on many occasions for firefighters getting married. Its never even been questioned. Our chief was asked by the firefighter getting married and granted the use of the truck. No one said "Boo".
I can tell you this, for small towns like mine and Windoms, we firefighters and EMS personel do ALOT of volunteering above and beyond what the pager rings off with. I feel that this is noting more than a witch hunt by their city officials. I think its ridiculus. I do thank all of you for your input. Thank you.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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wouldn't the root of this problem be that someone didn't follow the direct orders or stipulations of the request?
Because fire trucks are required to be taken on regular test drives, Fossing decided to take the truck to the church on the day of the wedding.
To me it is basically conflicting orders here. The fire rigs are to be taken out on regular test drives anyway, so this is basically knocking out two birds with one stone. Does the city council, manager, and mayor also tell the fire chief on how to fight fires?
I read this as the FF requested the pics of the wedding party with the rig and got the council's permission for pics at the fire hall. The chief made the decision to take it out on the regular test drive the day of the wedding. The way I read this it was the FF requesting permission, not the chief and if there are supposed to be regular test drives of the rigs, then how is that not a conflicting order? The rig wasn't used to transport the wedding party, as requested, seems the chief did something nice for his guys and the elected officials want to make this a pissing match. If there is a written order, SOP/G that the rigs are to be test driven periodically, that should take precedence over the verbal order, especially if the order was given to the FF making the request, not the chief. But also as you stated this is the only info that we can go on too, we don't have all sides.
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Permalink Reply by St Wood on
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Sounds like a typical City Commission wanting to get rid of the chief and get someone in there at a a lower pay scale. All they need is a reason. With no one commenting sounds like he does not have the support otherwise someone would be talking. Tis the season for this kind of deal cutting.
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Permalink Reply by walmart on
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I just got married on the 15th of august and had pictures taken by my departments truck. I went to my cheif officers and had permission. After the church my ast chief offered to bring the truck to the church but I informed him we were going to take the limo there. I look at the pictures with pride. I've put in a lot of time and effort into a volunteer dept. I would have been honored if this happened and my chief would have done this. Without all of the facts I have a hard time commenting on this because the whole story is not here. With all of the hours and everything else we volunteers do you'd think this would be a good way to show your thanks to the firefighters.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Stoops on
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Why should any council make the decision of the fire department. Do they own the fire department and everything in the department? Do any of members of the council have fire related training? In this situation, the FIRE CHIEF should have the final say to whether or not any of the apparatus leave the station and carry the wedding party to the reception. Our Fire Chief has the final say to where the apparatus goes, not any council. The Fire Chief made the right decision. The council makes the decisions of the city or town. Does the council say where this department respoinds to calls? I could only imagine if they do.
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