In March, the Gazette reported that a major new housing development had reopened old wounds. The town and county both gave preliminary support to the project, located on Seahawk Road and being developed by Rinnier Properties, but the fire company wrote a letter to the county commissioners criticizing the town for not consulting them on the matter.
“Our concern is the continued development within the town and no planning for the fire company’s future,” Fire Company President David Fitzgerald said. “Anybody with any bit of common sense would understand that those people are going to get sick, people are going to fall down, they’re going to need an ambulance, the fire alarms are going to go off – either by accident or by a real fire – and we’re going to be busier.”
Fitzgerald said several fire company facilities and vehicles were in disrepair, notably Station Three near the annexation site.
“You can stand inside the building and look outside through the holes in the wall,” Fitzgerald said. “We never know what we’re getting from the town anymore, and at some point we’re going to run out of resources.”
Fitzgerald said he had no idea what caused the rift between the town and the fire company, and lamented that it was not invited to participate in Town Council meetings.
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams, however, said he found it ironic that the only organization the town consistently seems to have trouble with is its fire department.
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