A group of Railroad Township Volunteer Firefighters has apparently walked off the job. In a letter to Township Trustee Mandy Thomason, the firefighters say they’re “unable to respond to any calls for service,” due to what they say is her unwillingness to provide insurance for each member of the department.
The letter also contains a list of other ways that firefighters believe Thomason has failed to uphold the township’s end of the contract: Firefighters accuse the township of refusing to buy safety equipment for one of the firefighters and refusing to purchase required medical equipment. They also say the township hasn’t repaired the cascade system used to fill air bottles and hasn’t reimbursed the fire department for parts purchased to repair a township vehicle. Additionally, the letter accuses Thomason of creating a “hostile work environment by taking unwarranted legal action” and “harassing” a member of the fire department. The firefighters say they’ll resume answering calls once all of those issues have been addressed.
The trustee received their notice Monday, according to Trustee Clerk Sarah Gillard. She says Thomason immediately notified the surrounding fire departments, to ensure continuous coverage. However, Gillard says that one township-owned vehicle is now missing, along with all the fire department’s personnel paperwork.
This follows a decision last week in Starke Circuit Court, in which the township was granted a temporary restraining order against former firefighter Andy Tilleraas. Court documents indicate that Tilleraas was dismissed from the fire department last December, amid allegations of conduct violations, including “abusive language toward officers and members” and “public ridicule of a subordinate.”
Township officials said that Tilleraas was not eligible to return to the fire department until December 18 of this year. But they said he has continued to act as a firefighter anyway, even though he isn’t covered by the township’s insurance.
Tilleraas’s attorney had argued that the township government doesn’t have the authority to make personnel decisions when it comes to individual members of the fire department. But the township’s attorney responded that the contract doesn’t restrict the township’s authority, and specifies that the trustee and department officers may expel any member who commits a major offense.
The Railroad Township Volunteer Fire Department is a nonprofit organization that was incorporated by Tilleraas in January of 2017, after Thomason and the township’s longtime fire department, the San Pierre Volunteer Fire Department, were unable to agree on a contract renewal.
