VERMILION, Ohio — Five firefighters have resigned from the Vermilion Fire Department over the last several days, alleging a toxic work environment. In the aftermath, the fire chief is addressing questions on if they have enough staff to respond to calls.
3News sat down with Chief Bill Brown on Tuesday. He confirmed his assistant fire chief resigned last Friday, and then on Monday night, four more of his firefighters gave their joint letter of resignation to City Council.
One of those firefighters gave WKYC a copy of that letter, and in it, the four claimed they're resigning because of the "toxic environment that has been allowed to flourish under Chief Brown's leadership." They are imploring city leaders to fix what are being called the department's systemic issues, including:
- "Persistent undermining of officers"
- "Endorsement of harassment directed towards firefighters & officers"
- "Tolerance of verbal and physical assaults perpetrated by fellow firefighters"
- "Substandard communication practices with officers and firefighters"
- "Sanctioning the existence of a group dedicated to harassing fellow firefighters and officers through false accusations, favoritism, and spreading rumors"
- "Complicity in the vandalizing of firefighter property"
- "The lack of action and accountability in the face of such blatant misconduct"
Vermillion is now left with 22 firefighters.
"I was a little taken back that it was so sudden," Brown said of the resignations. "I would have loved to have talked to them before, but this being what it is, I wish them the best. Looking forward, though, we've got a roster of a little over 20 that are enthusiastic and willing to work."
One of the firefighters that resigned, Robert McClean Jr., is concerned about response times to fires with so many of them having left.
"The group that left is pretty much the entire day shift group that answers calls from 5 in the morning until 5 in the evening," he stated. "[Brown]'s telling the city there's going to be no change in response time. I find that hard to believe when the guys that left are the ones that answered the day shift calls."
Here is what Brown had to say about response times.
"At this point, there's really no need for concern in terms of 'Will we show up?'" he stressed. "Of course we'll show up. Response times will be fine. That's not an issue. We've shown over time that we have plenty of people showing up to our calls, so I'm not concerned even a little bit on that."
The chief says the department's current staff can handle most jobs, and when in need of more help for bigger fires, they request aid from other fire departments in the region.
Brown also denied the allegations of harassment, saying he plans to soon address every single accusation in front of City Council.
"None of us wanted to leave the department," MacLean said in reflection. "We have a strong bond with the fire department and our community. We do this not for the glory. I'm really hoping that some changes are made, not just with leadership, but with the culture that is allowed to flourish."
Vermillion's Mayor and Safety Director Jim Forthofer, who hired Brown in 2022 to increase the department's professionalism, told us he backs his chief.
"Implementing these things has, for some cases, made Chief Brown a popular guy, and for some people, not so much," he explained. "And it doesn't mean you're a good or bad firefighter. It just means if you've had 40 years in, maybe you decide you just don't want to do this anymore. The people who have left were excellent folks — good people, dedicated, done a lot for the community — but some of them have chosen that they're not going this direction. But Chief Brown has my full support."
According to McClain, other firefighters have said they are also preparing to resign in the coming weeks.