The Lawrenceburg fire chief who resigned last week said the fire department is not prepared to properly protect the city. John Durr said 11 other firefighters followed him out the door, though two may have changed their minds. He said he quit over understaffing and the refusal of Mayor Troy Young to demote his deputy chief – who he said was not doing his job – or sign a mutual aid agreement with the Anderson County Fire Department.
“My biggest request was to have the county fire Department respond on what's called a working structure fire. … And the sooner you'll get their manpower there, the better off you are saving that home or saving a life.”
Durr said he asked to stay until the 14th, but the mayor made his resignation official May 7th at midnight.
“I'm a taxpayer and I live in the city limits. Me jumping up and down in the middle of the floor just looks like I'm having a temper tantrum. But the general public needs to know there's a huge deficit right now, and people’s safety is at risk right now.
WEKU was unable to reach Young or the deputy chief Durr said is now-interim fire chief for comment. Earlier, Young said eight new certified firefighters have been hired.
