BETHEL, Vt. (WCAX) – The Town of Bethel is facing the potential loss of multiple firefighters who say they’ll resign if town leaders don’t terminate one of their own members.
Bethel residents and firefighters from surrounding towns gathered in support of Dave Aldrighetti, the town’s previous fire chief, who recently resigned after the town refused to let go of a fellow firefighter in the department whom he calls a problem person.
A problem person who organizers of a change.com petition say “threatens the integrity” of the fire department.
Channel 3 has not confirmed the identity of the alleged problem person or what they did, but the outpouring of support for the chief’s decision to leave was undeniable.
Amanda Rogers, whose husband is a fire captain at the department, posted about the gathering on Facebook, along with the ‘We Stand with Dave’ petition to alert community members and surrounding towns about the issue.
“I wanted to sort of get the word out because unfortunately, this has been happening behind closed doors,” said Roger.
Aldrighetti’s son Derek says it’s hard to see his dad’s 30 years of work for the fire department get thrown away. “[It’s] thrown in his face at this point, because they’ve sided with one person who’s a serious threat to the community. Every Bethel resident should be concerned,” said Derek.
Bethel’s Selectboard Chair Chris Jarvis said in a statement, “Due to the nature of this incident being a personnel-related issue the Town of Bethel is not at liberty to discuss this further. The Select Board is committed to supporting the formal process, which included the Town Manager, Fire Chief, and town counsel.”
Jarvis says the Selectboard will talk more about the issue at its next meeting to decide the future of the fire department member.
For now, Bethel Fire Department waits on word from the Selectboard, but other town firefighters say if the quote “problem person” is not let go, they’ll resign as well, leaving the area short-changed for emergency crews.
“You’re gonna see a lot of people walk away, which is disheartening, and as a homeowner in Bethel, to see your local fire department fall apart is very alarming,’ said Derek.
The fire chief and his son say the best way to support the department is to go to the Town Selectboard Meeting next Monday night and show concerns for town leaders.