Knight township fire is now out of service.

I was just watching this and reading the articles online and this just makes we want to go down to the town and slap them around. Who the hell can not provide funding to a Fire Department. That is just wrong. I might be missing some information here but this just really chaps my ass. This is just uncalled for. I understand that towns are having hard times but you cut other programs other than the fire department or police department. This just makes me sick that the towns council would do this.
 
I saw this last night on Facebook and felt sorry for them. The chief stated it was basically a "scheduled execution", and the treasurer taking the money from the township to use for herself surely didn't help. I'm sure there's more to this story than what has been announced publicly, but it doesn't make it any easier to see some of our brothers lose their livelihood.


It didn't look to me like they had very much new equipment. The engine they were running was a 1992 according to the auction page, and the picture of the old ambulance was at least a 1995 model. Either way, they got handed a no-win situation and now the township residents have to pay for it.


Also according to other articles I've read about this, it seems as though Knight Township is a at least partially low-income area. If Knight Township FD runs 800 calls a year (according to one article), then EFD has their work cut out for them.
 
Wow, this is so stupid. I would hate for that to happen to any other department. That video will be a great memorial for the department itself.
 
Pure BULLSHIT! Thats seriously fucked up, what town can't find funding a fire department?????
 
I wish our department had a contract for $238,000. Must be nice, We are only getting $42,000 a year and we cover a 15 Square mile area, with about 5,000 residence.
 
Now there's probably 10 secretaries still getting paid plenty but no...the people who are there to protect you, they dont matter. There is no excuse for no funding for a fire department.


KP
 
WTF?? Seriously, how the hell do you decide not to fund your fire department? Ok, maybe some people made mistakes, but you don't punish every member. Not to mention the community, which from the the sound of it, loved their FD. How the hell can it even be legal to close an entire department. Especially a volunteer department.


On another note, did anyone noticed that a few of the guys either were, or were about to start crying? Maybe it's me, but being a volunteer is a lifestyle, not something you do because your bored. This has got to be hard for all these guys. That was a really low blow by the township.
 
This actually brought a tear to my eye it really got me sad that they would do this. And it also pissed me off because like some of you said there are probably some high paid city personel that coulld of taken a pay cut but noooooooooo just get rid of the ENTIRE FRIKEN FIRE DEPARTMENT im sorry but that is just terrible and un acceptable FU#K.
 
I dont quite understand why they cannot run barebones for the year and then return to their normal operations in the 2012 budget. Maybe I missed something. It seemed like they said "We cant run on $XXXX, and if we cant operate this year we will never operate again." Did the town say that the funding is permanently cut? It also states that they have 2 stations, maybe they could close 1 station?
 
Sounds like it could be where Evansville is annexing unincorporated Knight Township into it's city limits, and leaving little unincorporated territory for the fire dept to operate. Purely speculation, but this is how pretty much most fire dept's in NC meet their demise.
 
Fast LT1 said:
Pure BULLSHIT! Thats seriously fucked up, what town can't find funding a fire department?????
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I know many towns who contract with other departments because they dont have money for engines, gear, equipment, etc.

Newberry13 said:
How the hell can it even be legal to close an entire department. Especially a volunteer department.
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The same way a town can get rid of its entire police force.
 
Newberry13 said:
On another note, did anyone noticed that a few of the guys either were, or were about to start crying? Maybe it's me, but being a volunteer is a lifestyle, not something you do because your bored. This has got to be hard for all these guys. That was a really low blow by the township.
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I've only been with my department a couple of months but i would be pretty upset if they shut us down, its not just being a volunteer its more like having 22 more brothers that would watch your back no matter what. In my department everyone is willing to do whatever they can to help someone out. We had an elderly couple that moved back into town after their house was destroyed by mold, i saw them trying to move the stuff in by themselves so i stopped and started helping then the Chief of the FD stopped to help and before you knew it we had 12 firefighters and 1 pd officer helping this elderly couple. Oh and weeks later right before Christmas they showed up to my house with a turkey!
 
Damn! That's really cool. Where to you live again? I only moved here a month ago, I can move again!
 
Newberry13 said:
Damn! That's really cool. Where to you live again? I only moved here a month ago, I can move again!
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Sedgwick county ks, in the north west part of the county. Everyone is nice out in the small towns and will always lend a hand for the most part, but go into the city and be prepared for everyone to be an ass!
 
Isn't that how it is with most places?!
 
ffjwhite said:
I wish our department had a contract for $238,000. Must be nice, We are only getting $42,000 a year and we cover a 15 Square mile area, with about 5,000 residence.
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Sadly our department's future is unknown we only get about $40,000 a year the rest we get form the people and we have five staition's, five Engines, four Tankers, two jeeps and a service van. We cover a 108 square mile area. This time last year we just about had to shutdown.
 
towman88 said:
Sadly our department's future is unknown we only get about $40,000 a year the rest we get form the people and we have five staition's, five Engines, four Tankers, two jeeps and a service van. We cover a 108 square mile area. This time last year we just about had to shutdown.
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Do ya'll do fundraisers like steak frys and such ? If you need help PM me and I can help.
 
towman88 said:
Sadly our department's future is unknown we only get about $40,000 a year the rest we get form the people and we have five staition's, five Engines, four Tankers, two jeeps and a service van. We cover a 108 square mile area. This time last year we just about had to shutdown.
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Damn I thought we had it bad. We have the lowest contract in the county and we are the 7th most busy department in out county. Our county had 19 departments.
 
A lot of people outside of the state of Indiana don't realize just how dire the situation is for small departments, both Fire/EMS and police, throughout the state.


The Indiana General Assembly passed House Resolution 1001, which capped all residential property taxes at 1%. While that was all well and good for John Q. Citizen, John Q. Citizen and the politicians in the state house didn't realize what kind of extraordinary affect this would take on municipal services. In Indiana, a very large portion of county/township/town/city budgets are derived from property taxes. By capping these taxes at 1%, the city I work for saw it's property tax revenue drop by over 30%, instantly. While my community was able to make up the shortfall by laying off Street Department, Parks Department, and other city employees (over 70 all together), many communities throughout the state could not survive losing a third of their annual budgets. This has resulted in the loss of township volunteer fire departments, small police departments, parks departments, etc. throughout the State of Indiana.


It's because of things like this that municipal emergency services are so cash strapped and stretched so thinly. I'm an officer for my city's parks department... like some here know, my city is comprised of a population of approximately 118,000 people and I serve over 90+ properties (parks, multiple recreation centers, 2 public pools, the state's oldest zoo, a nature conservatory, a skate park, etc). Due to budget constraints, my "department" is made up of myself and 2 other officers - that's it. We have minimal funding, minimal training, and minimal equipment.


I am a conservative and believe in fiscal responsibility. This law was passed by a Republican General Assembly and a Republican governor. Sometimes making choices that get you reelected end up hurting your constituents more than you ever dreamed.
 
Sad stuff to hear. Just wonder if it was unavoidable, such as the idea of running bare bones. Wonder if ditching the ambulance service would've helped? Anybody got an idea of they were primary provider in that area?
 
The ambulances more than likely helped fund the fire department if they had much call volume. With two ambulances they probably were the primary provider. If they were BLS they would've contracted Evansville or a private service for ALS.


It's a sad day to see the township loose both their fire and EMS coverage. Response times will increase and the residents will suffer and lives may be lost because of it. People really don't understand that having a volunteer department helps save money over a paid department. I wonder how much it is going to cost residents to have Evansville FD provide service for the closed FD.
 
They didn't run EMS accept as first responders. They were not a transport agency. The two ambulances they had were turned into water rescue units.
 
Newberry13 said:
They didn't run EMS accept as first responders. They were not a transport agency. The two ambulances they had were turned into water rescue units.
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I was just about to come back and correct that. I just looked at their webpage.
 
The shitty little town i work for wanted to get rid of its entire volunteer fire department as well and wanted to shut down the police department at 3am every day then have it resume again at 7am to save money. We managed to save the fire department for now with some grants and we managed to keep our PD open by giving away our holiday pay but damn i hate when small town politics are the the problem like in our town and thats what i think happend in Knight Township also.
 
sbparkcop said:
A lot of people outside of the state of Indiana don't realize just how dire the situation is for small departments, both Fire/EMS and police, throughout the state.

The Indiana General Assembly passed House Resolution 1001, which capped all residential property taxes at 1%. While that was all well and good for John Q. Citizen, John Q. Citizen and the politicians in the state house didn't realize what kind of extraordinary affect this would take on municipal services. In Indiana, a very large portion of county/township/town/city budgets are derived from property taxes. By capping these taxes at 1%, the city I work for saw it's property tax revenue drop by over 30%, instantly. While my community was able to make up the shortfall by laying off Street Department, Parks Department, and other city employees (over 70 all together), many communities throughout the state could not survive losing a third of their annual budgets. This has resulted in the loss of township volunteer fire departments, small police departments, parks departments, etc. throughout the State of Indiana.


It's because of things like this that municipal emergency services are so cash strapped and stretched so thinly. I'm an officer for my city's parks department... like some here know, my city is comprised of a population of approximately 118,000 people and I serve over 90+ properties (parks, multiple recreation centers, 2 public pools, the state's oldest zoo, a nature conservatory, a skate park, etc). Due to budget constraints, my "department" is made up of myself and 2 other officers - that's it. We have minimal funding, minimal training, and minimal equipment.


I am a conservative and believe in fiscal responsibility. This law was passed by a Republican General Assembly and a Republican governor. Sometimes making choices that get you reelected end up hurting your constituents more than you ever dreamed.
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And just to add to this:


Indiana volunteer fire departments rely heavily on small towns to sign contracts which make up the bulk of the operating funds for the department in a given year. However, the towns should only be a small piece of the puzzle. The Townships are also required to pay into the fund if they want fire protection, and nearly all do, but they always do that at a minimum. For example, my local fire department is an incorporated agency which serves two townships and one town (1000 ppl in the town). They desperately needed to upgrade the skid unit in their grass rig as it was becoming a real turd. The town and the township where that town resided pitched in the bulk of the $17k they were quoted. The other township balked and played the "we don't have any money *sniffle*" card. They are still trying to get some cash out of them.


Township trustees are some of the most corrupt Indiana government officials you will find. They have little oversight on them, they play with a lot of money, and they work alone. These things lead to a lot of money getting "misplaced." No wonder Indiana is trying to do away with them in favor of "big government."
 
Ok here is what Happened.. Causing this total case Horseshit! Some fat sloth imbezzeling Twunt Decided she wanted wanted to use Township Funds for Concerts (the F-ing NKOTB) thought those douches were dead,Dinners, Dates,Vacations, her personal bills, House Payment etc etc etc.


Mind you this cow was a WAL-MART Cashier prior to her political career (as short lived as it was) She was investigated & booted and a new Gal stepped in. The New Gal did her best and did what she could with what she had to work with, unfortunatly as us responders get used to it over time... It was too little too late KTFD had one foot in the grave and the other mid step. Contract was awarded to Evansville City Fire and KTFD Closed their doors ..FOR GOOD! They will be Officially gone today after 1600hrs. Their remaining vehicles, tools, station eqiup, and anything else is going to the Auction Block today! Damn sad day for these guys KTFD had some of the BEST Trained Dedicated & Hardworking Vollies and Families in Vanderburgh Co.


As for the Cow that created this mess ... Probation and House Arrest. I dont think they have the food budget to house her in the jail! :hissyfit: OFF
 
Newberry13 said:
WTF?? Seriously, how the hell do you decide not to fund your fire department? Ok, maybe some people made mistakes, but you don't punish every member. Not to mention the community, which from the the sound of it, loved their FD. How the hell can it even be legal to close an entire department. Especially a volunteer department.

On another note, did anyone noticed that a few of the guys either were, or were about to start crying? Maybe it's me, but being a volunteer is a lifestyle, not something you do because your bored. This has got to be hard for all these guys. That was a really low blow by the township.
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Hell...I was crying watching the video...
 
So was I.
 
This is sad to hear. I am on a small volly dept here in indiana also we cover 54 square miles and cover two other towns our yearly budget is very i mean very small. Its around 14,000 a year to do what we do our newest truck is a 1995 E one and the oldest is a 77 lafrance. I feel bad for those guys,we struggle every year to keep open and even with our fund rasiors we still have problems. Brothers and sisters keep your heads held high and thanks for everything.
 
That video was an excellent way to say goodbye. A tear came to my eye listening to the dispatcher's speech.
 
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