LITTLE RIVER-ACADEMY, Texas — The mayor of Little River-Academy said the city needs more oversight over its volunteer fire department after recent arrests of three of its firefighters and an incident where a former chief was arrested in December 2018.
Mayor Drew Lanham told KCEN Channel 6 they city has had no control over the department since he started serving on the council five years ago.
"We have no say in what they do really," Lanham said. "I want to put safeguards in place so this won't never happen again. I want them to answer to the city council."
The Little River-Academy Volunteer Fire Department vets its own volunteers, does its own background checks and manages its own finances. Lanham said they don't typically know how many volunteers the department has, nor how it operates.
Lanham said Little River-Academy has previously given the department $6,000 a year for operations, but they stopped a few years ago. Lanham said they had paid for vehicle insurance until three months ago.
Now, Lanham wants to hire a fire chief that will answer to the city council and be in charge of all volunteers. The chief would be able to choose whether or not to re-accept any existing volunteers. Under that structure, the city would be responsible for conducting background checks and a possible drug test.
"That will be one of the requirements if we restructure them," Lanham said. "You will have to have a criminal background check and maybe a drug test."
Volunteer Fire Department President Karen Hoelker told Channel 6 the department has a board, but it is not elected by the public. Hoelker said new volunteers are approved by the department as a whole. When asked about oversight, Hoelker told Channel 6 the volunteer fire department must answer to the Bell County Commissioners Court, which must approve its financial reports.
Hoelker told Channel 6 she was concerned about the impact restructuring would have.
"The things that we have been able to do, like getting stuff from Helping Hands, that would no longer be us," Hoelker said. "Helping hands, per se, that is a huge thing for us. That allows us to get new gear."
Channel 6 asked if Hoelker is she thought the department would still be well equipped under the city.
"No sir," Hoelker said.
Mayor Lanham said the city would have to hire a city attorney before making the change, but he believes it is necessary to re-establish trust.
On June 5, three Little River-Academy volunteer firefighters were arrested after blocking in a victim with their vehicles and using red and blue emergency lights, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Office. They were all charged with impersonating a public servant, and the victim told police it wasn't the first time they posed as police to her.
"They've all been released from the department," Hoelker said. "That was our immediate action."
Hoelker told Channel 6 she hopes to rebuild trust with the community in the future with the same structure.
"We've lost a lot of community trust because of what has happened. All I can do is continue to do what we are doing and hopefully earn the city's trust back," Hoelker said.
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