This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Nearly half of the volunteers who make up the South Weber Fire Department have been either fired or quit in an ongoing dispute with the town's mayor and city manager.
Chief Thomas Graydon was fired earlier this week, allegedly after he refused orders to fire Deputy Chief Frank Patrick over payroll records-keeping questions. Both men are now gone, leaving an unhappy Capt. Derek Tolman as acting chief.
But Tolman inherited a decidedly smaller force after half-a-dozen firefighters reportedly resigned. As of Friday, the department had shrunk to just nine volunteers — and three of those still are in training — on the roster, down from 17.
More firefighters have threatened to follow suit if current talks with the city don't address concerns over funding for training and requests for new and better equipment.
"That's what we want, is a guarantee for the city that it's going to support us from here on out," Tolman told KUTV News. "We need the support of the city for the fire department."
City Manager Tom Smith acknowledged the department in understaffed, but insists South Weber has a plan to improve and keep the department intact.
While Tolman told KUTV News that he now worries about timely and sufficient response to fires in the Weber County town, Smith insists that mutual aid agreements with neighboring firefighting agencies will keep South Weber residents safe.
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