Two firefighters and the fire chief of 40-plus years resigned Monday, April 15, during a meeting of the village of Lakeview council, and more resignations are expected, according to some individuals with knowledge of the situation.
Extensive background interviews with current and former firefighters paint an adversarial relationship between the Lakeview Fire Department and administration and village council.
The situation reportedly reached a boiling point in the days immediately following the March 14 tornado. A heated argument took place between Mayor Elaine Fagan-Moore and former Fire Chief Norm Spring that resulted in the Logan County Sheriff’s Office having to come and settle everyone down, individuals with knowledge of the argument said.
Mayor Fagan-Moore was described to have “verbally assaulted” the fire chief. Mayor Fagan-Moore has not yet responded to a phone call or text message seeking comment.
Monday, council accepted the resignation of Fire Chief Norm Spring for the purpose of retirement effective immediately. Chief Spring has been fire chief since 1979.
A pair of other first responders, Zachary Perigo and Brandon Stevens, also turned in letters of resignation during the meeting.
“More resignations are coming,” one firefighter said.
The argument between the mayor and the fire chief occurred Sunday, March 17, and had to do with the storage of donated supplies for tornado relief efforts. Initially, donated supplies were stored and distributed from the fire department.
Former and current firefighters reported the mayor wanted those donations moved to a different location. The firefighters reportedly told Mayor Fagan-Moore there wasn’t a better location in the village — both big enough and structurally sound — to house the donated goods.
Later that day, the mayor reportedly went to the fire station and confronted Chief Spring. According to accounts of that confrontation, the mayor demanded “more respect” from the first responders.
“This took place with a room full of firefighters from different departments, and several people from the public,” one person with knowledge of the argument said. “It spiraled and got to the point where the chief’s wife had to call the sheriff’s office, because the mayor and another council member had (Chief Spring) cornered in his office.
That confrontation was representative of the kind of relationship between the fire department and the council/administration for months, sources said.
Chief Spring was placed on paid administrative leave on or about Feb. 7 that lasted for 15 days. He was reinstated after two weeks, sources said, with no explanation or result of findings from the administration’s investigation into the matter.
Firefighters had reportedly sought more information into the chief’s placement on administrative leave, and made public records requests of personnel files to that end. The mayor called one firefighter a “queen ant,” and told her, “this (stuff) is going to stop,” according to multiple sources.
Previous to that, the council had appointed Dave Scott, village administrator, as an “administrative liaison” with the fire department.
“Dave Scott would probably be a good option since he had handled all the meetings when they had the last issues. Dave Scott can gather necessary information and bring it to council,” read minutes from the Jan. 16 council meeting.
Currently, there are about 11 firefighters in the Lakeview Fire Department. Former and current firefighters reported that as many as six more resignations were forthcoming and at least one or two were set to be turned in Wednesday, April 17.
Mayor Fagan-Moore is in her first term in office. She was sworn-in in January and will serve through the end of 2027. She replaces Ryan Shoffstall, who served as mayor for five terms, beginning in 2003.
Firefighters who served under both mayors reported a stark difference.
“I can confidently say that we wouldn’t have the mess that we do if (Shoffstall) was still mayor. And I can confidently say that the tornado efforts would not have played out the same. It would have been handled a lot better under (Shoffstall),” one source reported.
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Several months of issues between the village of Lakeview administration and its fire department resulted in the resignation of two firefighters and the fire chief Monday, April 15, during a council meeting.
Council accepted the resignation of Fire Chief Norm Spring for the purpose of retirement effective immediately. Chief Spring has been fire chief since 1979.
A pair of other first responders, Zachary Perigo and Brandon Stevens, also turned in letters of resignation during the meeting.
In February, council voted to place Chief Spring on “paid administrative leave, effectively immediately, pending investigation” following an executive session. Previous to that, the council had appointed Dave Scott as an “administrative liaison” with the fire department.
“Dave Scott would probably be a good option since he had handled all the meetings when they had the last issues. Dave Scott can gather necessary information and bring it to council,” read minutes from the Jan. 16 council meeting.
This story will be updated.