Thirteen volunteer firefighters turned in their gear and walked out of a meeting after they said they were reprimanded for disagreeing with the department’s secretary, who is also the chief’s wife.
The future of the Bentonia Volunteer Fire Department remains uncertain with the sudden departure of 13 volunteer firefighters and a canceled meeting to potentially provide a resolution. One side said the cancelled meeting was by design. The other side said efforts are being made to rebuild the department. With both sides, a clear resolution remains in the air.
The issue was brought to the table during last week’s Bentonia town meeting. After about an hour-long discussion, it was agreed that a meeting be held two days later to possibly vote on the leadership and direction of the rural fire department.
That meeting never happened.
Bentonia Alderman Steve Pigg opened the discussion during the town meeting, following Chief Paul Johnson’s monthly report.
“I would like to know what we are doing about the personnel matter,” asked Pigg. “Is everybody back to work?”
Johnson said the department is probably short of about 11 firefighters.
“I still got 17 on the roster,” Johnson said. “We have about 21 total with four inactive. We are recruiting. We have two new members at the last meeting that one will be voted for on Aug. 14. The other will be eligible for voting at the end of the month. We are actively seeking more people. It has been tight. I am not going to lie. But we are handling the load. We have people showing up doing their jobs.”
“Well, it is kind of a problem when 11 people walk out,” Pigg replied. “That is basically a whole department.”
Bentonia Mayor Kim Martin said that perhaps proper communication was the source of contention. She questioned why so many firefighters would have “walked out for no reason.”
Johnson said there was “a personal grievance that spilled over into the department as a whole.”
“I tried to meet with each individual to give their own personal grievance and find out what was going on to try to resolve the issue,” Johns said. “I was given the ultimatum that she goes in the manner that they saw fit, or they walk. The way they were doing it was not in accordance with the bylaws, and it sets a very dangerous precedent on how people can be gotten rid of within the fire department. There are proper channels for disciplinary action when there are issues.”
It was later revealed in the meeting that “she” referred to Johnson’s wife, who also serves as the department’s secretary.
“My main concern is that this jeopardizes the people of the town,” Martin said. “I think maybe the best step would have been to suspend (her) for a time and let the personnel stay where they were.”
“I was not given that option,” Johnson replied. “I was given the ultimatum that they wanted it their way or walk. She has been written up, but I have not suspended her. I had not taken in with all the officers to get an opinion.”
“We need this team of volunteers back at the department,” Martin added. “We want you to be a team that is going to bond and work together. Mouths can move mountains. Sometimes you just have to learn to zip it. When relationships get in the way of doing a job, it can cause problems. When you have family members, sometimes it doesn’t work out.”
The firefighters in question totaled 13. And most of them were in the audience during the meeting.
Scotty Smith, who served as the department’s captain, was one of the ones who walked out.
“When I turned my gear in as captain, there was nothing done to try to get us to stay,” Smith said. “It was basically ‘good riddance.’ When we turned in our grievances, (Johnson) reprimanded us right here in this place. He reprimanded every one of us for turning it in and how we were in the wrong. He assured us that he could separate his marriage and the department. But he made his decision that night. At this point, the secretary needs to resign and leave, and the chief needs to resign and leave for us to come back.”
Johnson said Smith’s claims “were not entirely true.”
“We can’t let this fire station fall into despair over this kind of stuff because it looks bad on the town as well,’ Martin said. “A decision must be made, and it is not a decision that we don’t take lightly. We can’t let the department dwindle down because there are martial and personnel issues going on.”
“I don’t want 13 to walk away from us, and our insurance go up because we don’t have a fire department,” added Alderman Robert Demus.
Smith said with the current administration within the fire department, he would not even feel safe responding to an emergency situation.
“If I go into a burning house, I want to make sure I got somebody who is going to back me up,” he said.
Members of the 13 who walked also said the department lacked proper training. Since their departure, some members have joined District 3 Volunteer Fire Department in three training sessions.
When the suggestion of voting on the direction of the department, Smith questioned active versus inactive voter participation.
“That imaginary 30 they have on the roster, that is who they will get to come in and vote,” he added.
A meeting was scheduled to be held last Thursday. However, that meeting never occurred.
The Bentonia Volunteer Fire Department covers a large district from south of Yazoo County High School to the Big Black River and within the town of Bentonia, including the Scotland area down Highway 433 to the Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department. The department is also composed of two separate components, the town of Bentonia and Yazoo County. Both also hold separate funding.
