A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Overnight Staffing Apparent Issue in Salisbury/Fire Company Dispute

Don Rush

The departure of Volunteer Fire Company 1 in Salisbury apparently resulted from a requirement by the department that they be available overnight.

The fire chief Rick Hoopes told the Salisbury Daily Times that it was not mandatory they be at the station but rather could respond from home.

Although, he added, that new recruits would be required to man the stations.

The department said that the changes were made upon the recommendation of a taskforce to improve response time.

The fire chief said that Station 1 had failed to meet standards for response times over the last four years.

Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver told the Daily Times that he had heard from the volunteers that they were required to spend all night at the station twice a month.

The paper said that representatives from the volunteer fire company declined to comment for the story.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.