Seven Florida firefighters -including the chief- have resigned following a city planning meeting in the town of White Springs.
Town Manager Stacy Tebo asked for Chief Kevin Pittman’s resignation, claiming that he had been dishonest about being certified to teach certain classes to volunteer firefighters.
“He was dishonest to me about his instructor certification,” Tebo claimed, adding “he was also dishonest on his resume. The integrity of the Town, the Council, and myself was compromised as we unwittingly participated in the deception.”
Another reason for the resignation request was Pittman’s purchase of repairs and decals for a second-hand fire truck, having done so without permission from the city.
Pittman offered little to no resistance in the wake of the accusations.
“I have been fired before and I have quit a lot of jobs, so effective right now you have my resignation as fire chief for this department,” Pittman said. “Tomorrow I will return the truck, personal items and the keys, my keys to the town. There is no point in going through this, this nothing but… crap. I’m just going to say it and I am not going to have my name put out there and walked on.”
In response, six volunteers -who were not paid- resigned as well, though Mayor Rhett Bullard attempted to stop them.
“Hold on. We have moved on from the fire department, there’s no…” Bullard said before he was interrupted.
“Let’s just do this right then right now,” Thomas Brazil said, cutting the mayor off. “If you’re going to move on, then we’re going to move on. My name is Thomas Brazil, I’m a Firefighter engineer for White Springs Fire Department and this is my resignation.”
Joining Pittman and Brazil was Antonio Perez, William Register, Peter Shanks, Andy Stormant and Andrea Thompson.
According to the Suwannee Democrat, only nine members of the department remain.
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