When city officials terminated the Seven Hills fire chief, 10 volunteer firefighters got up and resigned.
“When that decision was made, the trust was broken,” former Seven Hills firefighter Nick Debrum told WKRG.
City officials said they fired Chief William Clickstine for allegedly talking about fire department business with someone unaffiliated and for not signing a policy.
“I was surprised. He is highly qualified; he is a certified firefighter. He works for a busy department, so it was weird to try to get rid of him," former Seven Hills firefighter Michael Torris told a reporter.
“The 10 of us don’t feel safe doing it anymore,” he added noting that combined, they have 80 years of experience.
The firefighters who walked away to show support for thier beloved chief say they hope things can be resolved so they can go back to protecting their community.
“We want to help; we really do. But the fact is, the best way to fight fires is from inside. The only way to mitigate the dangers of that is to train hard and to trust the guys you’re with and to trust the leadership,” Torris pointed out.
