JASPER, Tenn. – For the last six years, Jasper Alderman Paul West has been highly critical of Fire Chief Chris Rector and has proposed firing him more than once.
At Monday’s meeting of the Jasper Board of Mayor and Aldermen, West finally got what he wanted.
When West renewed his criticisms last August, city leaders decided to ask the University of Tennessee’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service to perform a review of the town’s fire department.
That report was published late last week, and West said it was a “bad report” that would cause Jasper’s Insurance Services Office fire ratings to decrease and residents’ insurance to increase in the near future.
“We’ve been fighting this for six years,” he said. “There’s going to be some feelings hurt. I’ve had my feelings hurt a lot in life. I’m a big boy. I can get over it.”
West made a motion to fire Rector, name Earl Jones to interim chief, and advertise to hire a full-time fire chief.
He said city leaders should expect a “certain standard to be met” at the fire hall, and that hasn’t happened under Rector’s leadership.
Alderman Josh Jennings said the MTAS report is “pretty scathing.”
“Everything Mr. West has said in every work session is word-for-word, letter-for-letter, figure-for-figure in this report – almost so that I thought he wrote it,” he said.
The report concludes that Jasper’s existing fire services are not adequate, Jennings said.
He said Jones wrote a similar evaluation report last year, which echoed West’s criticisms, too.
“I call an ace an ace,” Jennings said. “I think it’s time that the town of Jasper comes together. The report shows that we have geographically outgrown what we’re trying to service here now.”
Mayor Paul Evans said many of the report’s recommendations are unfeasible for a town the size of Jasper, and that he doesn’t think having a full-time chief is the answer.
“I think we’re trying to put some people down that’s done a dern good job for this town for a while,” he said.
“Not at all,” Jennings said.
Evans said the department’s equipment is maintained properly, and it’s all in “good shape.”
West erupted at Evans’s comment.
“You’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re going to sit here and whitewash and lie to these people when you know [the fire hall] is a damn indoor junkyard over there,” West said to Evans. “Don’t sit there and tell these people that. You don’t even know anything about fire. You’re entitled to your opinion, but don’t talk when you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know what I see over there, and there’s nothing wrong over there,” Evans said. “I think we’ve got a good fire department here. The guys are doing a good job.”
Jennings asked West if he would amend his motion to not fire Rector.
West refused.
“I’m about tired of beating this dead dog – it’s beating a skeleton,” he said. “I know what the problem is.”
The board voted 3-2 to fire Rector.
Evans and Alderman Paul “Mac” Bumpus cast the dissenting votes.
After the vote, volunteer firefighter Josh Johnson said the fire department got only $1,900 to operate last year, and that Alderman Josh Turner told him last week that the matter of dismissing Rector would not be on the board’s February agenda.
“For that reason, nothing against the city of Jasper, but if I can’t trust the aldermen, I can’t do this job,” Johnson told the board.
He said he talked to the MTAS reviewer as well.
“I didn’t hear one thing that [the examiner] said you need to get rid of the chief, but you got rid of a captain, too.”
With that, Johnson dropped his key to the fire hall on the board’s meeting table and walked out, quitting the fire department.
Most of the other nine volunteers have quit the department, too, since the board’s vote.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.