NC Volunteer Fire Company and Town Settle Suit Agreeing to Go Separate Ways

A volunteer fire company and a North Carolina town have settled a contentious lawsuit with an agreement to part ways and the fire company keeping most of its $1.2 million worth of equipment.

The Cramerton Volunteer Fire Department provided fire service to the Town of Cramerton under an agreement that had been renewed annually going back fifty years. The relationship soured in 2011 while negotiating the agreement for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The town insisted that it have the authority to hire and fire the chief, control finances, and make personnel employees of the town.

The fire company rejected the town’s demands prompting the town to demand that the fire company vacate the town-owned station. The fire company complied taking $1.2 million worth of apparatus and equipment in the process. That move prompted the town to file suit demanding the return of the taxpayer-funded equipment.

The fire company counterclaimed alleging that the town violated a 1961 agreement that conveyed the fire station to the town. They demanded reversion of title to the premises back to the fire company.

The case was settled with CVFD keeping all of the equipment, with the exception of a fire truck and rescue boat, which the company agreed to donate to Cramerton. In return, Cramerton agreed to give $48,000 to the fire department.

A joint press release stated “Both parties are excited about their new ventures and mutually regret any ill will or harsh words which resulted from the ending of their relationship… Both parties want and will pursue the best interests of the citizens of Cramerton.”

The town has formed a new municipal department, while CVFD is reported to be investigating the possibility of establishing itself in an area of the county that needs use additional firefighting services.

More on the story.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
x

Check Also

UK Parliament Questions Fire Service Leader on Institutional Racism Claim

As have many fire departments in the UK and Canada recently, the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority has been in the news relative to allegations of institutional racism and sexism. However, when questioned by Lee Anderson, a member of parliament, the chair of the Authority, Rebecca Knox, was unable to answer some relatively simple questions about the decision to label her organization “institutionally racist.”

Another Assisting Police Lawsuit in the News

A federal court in California has dismissed several counts in a lawsuit filed against the City of Richmond and American Medical Response West over the death of a man, but will otherwise allow the case to continue. The suit was brought by the family of Ivan Gutzalenko, who died on March 10, 2021.