GA Volunteer Firemen Quit To Protest Chief's Termination

POLK COUNTY, GA — A west Georgia county is without about a dozen of its volunteer firefighters Wednesday after they quit in support of their recently terminated chief.

Polk County EMA Director Randy Lacey was dismissed April 9 by county manager Matt Denton over his involvement with alleged false training and service-time submissions to the state’s pension fund, according to Polk Today.

Exactly what these allegations are is unclear, according to the website. Atlanta news station WXIA-TV has submitted an open-records request to the Georgia Firefighters’ Pension Fund to find out.

That said, a group of volunteer firefighters felt strongly enough about Lacey’s firing to follow him out the door. On Tuesday, they laid down their gear on the steps of Polk County Volunteer Fire Department headquarters in Cedartown.

Regina Rose Gentry, who told Patch she helps the volunteers by photographing their activities and working on training videos, posted a picture of the pile of gear on her Facebook page later that day.

“I can say for all of them this was not an easy decision or something they took lightly,” Gentry wrote in her public post. “They love the job they have done and they love Polk County.”

Polk Today reported that one of those who quit was the county’s volunteer fire department training director Jason Shuman, who backed up Lacey when he appealed his termination to the county personnel board.

Christopher Wallace, who’s volunteered for Polk County on and off since 2006, told WXIA-TV that he saw 10 fellow firefighters turn in their gear.

“That’s a real worry of mine,” Wallace said to the Atlanta news station. “Before those guys turned in their gear, it was nice to get a half dozen people to show up for a fire.”

Speaking for Polk County, Denton responded Tuesday with this statement to the media: “The resignation of certain volunteer firefighters this morning was most unfortunate. The Polk County Volunteer Fire Department consists of dedicated men and women who serve their community faithfully. The firefighters who resigned this morning did not quit Polk County Government, they quit the community they served."

“We aren’t trying to walk out on the citizens of Polk County at all,” one unidentified volunteer said to Polk Today. Rather, he said, they were trying to support Lacey in the face of tough work conditions, a shrinking pool of volunteers and pay of only $10 a call while keeping a day job.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the situation had yet to be resolved.

Read the stories on the Polk Today and 11Alive websites.