In the midst of a severe financial crisis, Coal City Fire Chief Ryan Bragg stepped down Wednesday and State Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis received a letter announcing the department would voluntarily cease and desist operations immediately.

Lewis said he learned Wednesday morning the fire department was in default in its workers’ compensation payments, had been unable to meet the payments for one of its trucks, had recently had its phone and other utilities disconnected for non-payment and was losing the building where it’s housed because of lack of payment to the bank.

“The Coal City Fire Department has been under our radar for a number of years,” Lewis said. “If they had not voluntarily ceased operations, I would have been forced to do an order of cease and desist.”

Jack Bowden, director of the Raleigh County Emergency Operations Center, said the area served by the fire department had been broken up and would be covered by Beaver, Ghent, Rhodell and Sophia Area with mutual aid from Sophia City.

“The general public will still be taken care of,” Bowden said.

Although the fire department is not in current operation, Lewis said, it is only a “temporary shutdown.” Later Wednesday, Roger Bell was named interim chief, tasked with putting the department back together.

Lewis said the department will have 90 days to show improvement in its financial dealings.

“If I do not see any improvement in that time,” he said, “I will be forced to serve a decertification notice and I’ll present that to the state Fire Commission for their consideration of decertifying the department altogether.”

The voluntary cease and desist, Lewis said, is an indication there are people within the department who are committed to righting the ship.

“There are some members who know the importance of having it (fire department) there and who are willing to go above and beyond in bringing it out of this situation,” he said. “The voluntary cease and desist shows they have an interest in providing adequate protection for the citizens there.”

Lewis said Coal City residents might want to consider assisting as well. He explained homeowners’ insurance premiums will be “astronomical” without a local fire department.

“What they need to decide is if they see the need for that fire department or value it in any way,” he said, adding volunteers can help with anything from firefighting to general housekeep. “I would advise any one interested to assist in any way they can.”

Lewis did not venture a guess on what had created such severe financial problems for Coal City, saying only that fire departments need to be run like businesses.

“I really don’t know (what happened), but firefighting is a big business anymore and needs to be run like a business,” he said. “You can only spend what money you have coming in, and when your payout is more than your pay-in, the business management needs to take a close look at what they’re doing.”

The state fire marshal’s office will conduct an investigation into Coal City’s financial problems, and Lewis said any other agency deemed necessary would also be called in for assistance.

— E-mail:

mjames@register-herald.com