LEBANON JUNCTION, Ky. — The Lebanon Junction city council met for the first time since the mass resignation of nearly a third of their firefighters last month.
Two more firefighters resigned hours after Monday's meeting, one of them a captain at the department.
Mayor Larry Dangerfield addressed the resignations ahead of announcing new leadership, commending those who stayed with the department.
"They stepped up to the plate and did what needed to be done," Dangerfield said. "It's needless to say what we had, what we should have had... this is what we've got."
Dangerfield said at the meeting he named Adam Heath chief and Todd Crady assistant chief. Heath is originally from Lebanon Junction and Crady is a previous chief of the department, the mayor said.
Neither were in attendance at the meeting.
"His heart is here is Lebanon Junction," Dangerfield said of now Chief Adam Heath.
July 7 multiple firefighters resigned, including the then chief and assistant chief. WHAS11 confirmed with the then interim chief that 15 firefighters left within a week.
The resignations cited poor standards of the governing body and that the office promotes a “life-endangering environment.” Firefighters that left the department told WHAS11 it came down to disagreements about training.
"With the mayor not wanting us to allow us to hold people accountable, that is what this came down to. It force our hand," Will Brown told WHAS11 last month. "Overnight that membership dropped by half and the department took steps back... This could have been avoided. This was a complete miscommunication and misunderstanding of information."
"I want the citizens to know we have not backslid in," Dangerfield said at the meeting addressing the small crowd. "We have a good staff, we have more firemen and we have more coming."
'You're going to have a lot of people walking out'
Daniel Karrer, a retired 17-year veteran firefighter and father of a Lebanon Junction captain, addressed the council. He said he spoke for the firefighters. He had also applied to be chief for the department.
"I'm just telling you, you have a bad problem and it's getting worse," Karrer said. "You should really think about what you're doing or you're going to have a lot of people walking out."
When asked by a citizen at the meeting what those who left wanted, Karrer said those issues came down to the hired leadership.
"He [the mayor] made his decision and it's over," Karrer said. "If your firefighters don't trust your command staff then they are not going to show up."
Dangerfield met with the department twice in the last month and said he polled those who were still there. He said although many suggested Karrer, the decision ultimately came down to him.
"Out of courtesy -- not demanded, not law -- I put on their backs 'tell me what you think.'" he said. "I think it's more detrimental not so much this what can happen... when people did leave the fire department, it wasn't one or two. It was a conspiracy of people getting together and going where they thought they wanted to go and resigned."
Karrer told WHAS11 after the meeting he has a special connection with the Lebanon Fire Department. He said that's why he applied for chief and is now helping speak for those who decided to leave and those who decided to stay.
"I'm just trying to tell them that the firemen have been talking to me and they don't trust these people," he said. "I told them not to leave, but if they're uncomfortable, they're going to walk."
Where the department stands
After the city council meeting, WHAS11 confirmed two firefighters submitted their resignations; one of them was Karrer's son.
WHAS11 spoke with another firefighter who resigned late Monday night who said that their departure was a "personal issue" and in a message said they believe the department is "back on track" and trying to "bring everyone together."
According to documents through an open records request, there were 20 active members in the department before the two resignations Monday night. The council's monthly fire report showed the department responded to 40 calls in the last month, half of them medical assists and responding to car crashes.
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