Overview
- Norwich removed the Yantic Volunteer Fire Department from dispatch at 10 a.m. Tuesday after a deadline to sign a contract placing it under city command.
- At a crowded public safety meeting Wednesday night, residents and volunteers criticized the shutdown as city leaders defended requiring a single incident commander.
- The city retrieved Yantic’s firetrucks under an injunction, and city firefighters are covering the area with reported under two-minute arrivals to three calls.
- Fire Chief Samuel Wilson cites volunteers ignoring directives and “operational failures,” while Yantic leaders say they lacked time to review a nine-page agreement and that their chief could not sign without member input.
- Yantic says it will seek legal relief to resume service, and city officials say the company can reopen once it joins the unified structure, noting East Great Plain has already signed.