A Viewer Writes: Wicomico County Volunteer Firemen's Association Meeting held March 21, 2017

Here is a brief synopsis of the Wicomico County Volunteer Firemen's Association Meeting held March 21, 2017 concerning allowing the Station 1 Volunteers to stay a corporation and to vote on giving them territory

It was apparent that the majority of the volunteers in Wicomico County overwhelmingly support Station 1 and their secession from the City and the Salisbury Fire Department? It appeared that the county volunteers and the county fire chiefs association are going to support Station 1 on their quest for the County portion of the Salisbury Station 1 fire district.

It was obvious that Rick Hoppes had his paid Flunkies in their to speak for him to fight his battle. The biggest loudmouth was paid paramedic Tony Webster who shouldn't have been allowed to speak since he was a paid paramedic with Salisbury and it was obvious this was about his paid job. He was sitting with the Pittsville Volunteers, but he doesn't even live in Pittsville anymore. I don't think he even owns property in Pittsville any longer so is he still a member??

Then Cherry Cheeks Tri Townsend got up to the podium several times and asked multiple questions to the fire chiefs committee who is ready to support the Station 1 volunteers. This was wrong because it was supposed to be comments only, but then it went back and forth between Cherry Cheeks Tri Townsend and Chief Joe Morris from Statino 74, Delmar.

At some point Rick Hoppes got up to the podium and told some flat out lies and even said that he didn't want the Station 1 volunteers and said they made that decision to leave and he accepted it and they were on their own. Rick Hoppes should not have been allowed to speak because he to is not a volunteer firemen and it is obvious that he is concerned about his job and the jobs of paid firemen in Salisbury, not the volunteers.

Then Mark Cotter who is supposed to be a "retired" volunteer from Salisbury Station 16 got up to speak. He tried to make a motion to have this "bad family fight" remanded back to Salisbury to let them work it out on their own. It was seconded by Tad Farlow from the Pittsville Volunteer Fire Company with Tony Webster who was sitting at the front table as an officer for the Firemen's Association. Then it got contentious about the bylaws of the association.

Station 1 Chief Cory Polidore got up to the podium again and this time explained that the Station 1 volunteers didn't want to go back to the City Fire Department under Chief Hoppes and explained that it was like trying to go back to a relationship where you were constantly getting abused and beat up.

It was pointed out from the bylaws that the Station 1 members had to own a Class A fire engine to be a member of the Firemen's Association. So discussion went back and forth about owning the engine at the time of application to the firemen's association or currently maintaining one. Then it was found in the bylaws that you currently have to have one to be a member volunteer corporation of the Wicomico County Volunteer Firemen's Association.

Now here is the kicker. Cherry Cheeks Tri Townsend, Mark Cotter and Tony Webster didn't know they wold open a can of worms. IF the Station 1 volunteers had to currently own a Class A fire engine then so does the Station 16 and Station 2 Volunteer Corporations. WHOOPS!! There was a Hostile Takeover when Station #2 tried to secede from the City in 2003. Barrie Tilghman, the City Council majority, Chief Steve Brezler, Deputy Chief David See, Volunteer Deputy Chief Bill Gordy and Rick Hoppes forced the volunteers at Station 1 and 2 to sign over their fire engines and all equipment to the city via a new charter change. All fire engines, capital equipment and capital apparatus purchased by the Salisbury volunteers with Wicomico County Funds given to the volunteers by the county had to be given to the City of Salisbury, per that charter change. So now Salisbury Station 2 and 16 are NOT and have not been members of the Wicomico County Firemens Association since 2003. This may have made them ineligible to be members of the Maryland State Firemen's Association since 2003 as well.

Here is another kicker, out of the 14 volunteer fire companies at the meeting only 4 departments were paid up on their membership dues which technically made the meeting null and void because there wasn't a quorum. So they somehow suspended the bylaws to let the executive committee members decide to go on with the meeting.

Then a motion was made to the affect to give Station 1 volunteers along with Stations 2 and 16 until July 1, 2017 to purchase the "required" Class A fire engine. That meeting went on for nearly 3 hours from 7:30 PM until approximately 10:30 PM.

I believe a letter will be going to the Volunteer Fire Chiefs Committee for their meeting tonight, Wednesday 3-22-2017. This may be where the volunteer fire chiefs will decide on splitting the Station 1 fire district.

It should be pointed out that Rick Hoppes tried to stack the meeting with as many faces from the Salisbury Fire Department in order to intimidate the crowd just as they did during the meeting with the county council. In the audience there were many paid firemen both on and off duty.

It should also be noted that Cherry Cheeks Tri Townsend and Marc Cotter and a few others were very disrespectful to the President of the Maryland State Firemen's Association. During the meeting there were several ambulance calls with fire engines running a medical assist so the large overhead doors had to keep going up and down while guest were speaking and the meeting was going on. The meeting was held in the fire engine bays at Station 16 and there are no doors to let people in and out to access the fire engines and ambulances so they had to use the loud and obnoxious overhead doors which ruined the meeting. Also the building is so large that even with the portable speakers it was difficult to hear what was going on. Most stations are designed with a large banquet room for these types of meetings, but not in Salisbury. At the 3 Salisbury fire stations the County firemen's association meetings have to be held in the engine bays. What does that tell you about the fire stations? It proves that the Salisbury fire stations were designed to be paid fire stations and not for the volunteers.