(WSIL) -- The village of Galatia's Volunteer Fire Department is lacking staff and proper equipment as its future remains up in the air.
Seven firefighters resigned after another member was reinstated at the village's last board meeting two weeks ago according to Tim Artis. He resigned along with the chief, assistant chief and four others.
Last week Artis said that OSHA inspected the station's equipment and pulled eight of its self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) devices off Galatia's fire trucks.
Those devices are crucial for firefighters to 'get in and do our work' according to Ryan Hall, a trainer and emergency operations coordinator for the city of Carbondale.
Hall says the fire department inspects its SCBAs every day to ensure firefighters' safety and recommends other departments to do the same. The department also held an annual ladder inspection Tuesday afternoon.
"I want to make sure everybody goes home," Hall said.
The tanks the city's fire department works with can last 30 to 45 minutes according to Hall. But that time can be shorter when firefighters are working the scene. Hall recommends having backups should the scene go long.
"You have to be prepared that this is going to go through pretty quickly when you're hauling one, two or three people if you have to or just moving equipment," Hall said. "[Oxygen] goes through surprisingly quick."
Not having SCBAs means the five firefighters left in Galatia can't go into a burning building and must rely on neighboring departments for help. The nearest one, according to one resident, is at least 20 minutes away.
"I asked if an executive or an emergency meeting could be brought up and they said that they didn't believe that that was a necessary event," she said. "That [it] wasn't that serious."
The woman, who remained anonymous, says she lost her home in a fire in 2012. Not having a firefighter in town who could rescue a person trapped in a house fire is a scary thought for her.
"What if that was you or what if your children were in that home?" she asked. "How would you feel to know that you have to wait for another fire department to come from Harrisburg or Eldorado to assist so that you can go into a home and find somebody lifeless."
Mayor Steve Sloan could not be reached for comment. He did however post the following statement on the Village of Galatia's website...
"As Mayor of the Village of Galatia I wish to address the current status of the Galatia Fire Department. There are a lot of rumors going around, but the truth of the matter is we currently have an active fire department. We are in the process of reorganizing the department. We still have 7 active members and other departments assured us we will have their mutual aid during this reorganization. The Village Board was not given the information and cost for the new equipment that is needed. We are in the process of taking care of that situation. We were given false information regarding the background checks and the Fire Marshal’s Office review and they will be providing us with a report from their review of the Galatia Fire Department. Rest assured, we are taking steps to provide fire protection for the Village of Galatia and the surrounding area."
Steve Sloan
Mayor of Galatia
There's a board meeting Monday night April 10 at 6pm to address the situation.
